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A visit to Chelsea can inspire dozens of creative ideas for your own garden. Here's some advice on themes to try from this year's show.
There are many ingenious ways to save water in your garden. From introducing drought-tolerant plants to installing butts and collecting run-off water there are many ways to collect and store this precious resource. See how the RBC Blue Water Garden and the Herbert Smith Garden for WaterAid demonstrate ways to save rainwater.
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Add topiary to create a sense of permanence and grandeur. Whether hedges are clipped into geometric forms or animals, they can add bold structure to your garden. See The QR Code Garden and The Soft Machine for structure and sharp clipped, geometric shapes.
From year to year gardeners face strict water restrictions; this may have an impact on which garden plants you can grow. There are a range of drought-tolerant plants however that are fascinating in form and colour all year round. See the Fresh Climate Calm Garden for plant ideas or L'Occitane Immortelle Garden for further inspiration.
The magic of growing wildflowers in your garden is that it can be done to any scale- from tiny plots to average-sized gardens to extensive estates. Wildflowers encourage beneficial pollinators and good garden wildlife. See the beautiful dry-meadow plants in The Institute for Karst Garden or wildflowers in the Fresh Garden Petra- Tranquility set in stone.
Encourage more birds and insects into your garden by adding a few of their favourite plants plus an insect box or two. The garden Petra Tranquility set in stone was buzzing with bees thanks to the designer's choice of plants, while The RBC Blue Water Garden featured swathes of lilies to attract insects. The gardens were works of art in their own right.
Creating a green roof is a great way to maximise all the available space in your garden and add an extra dimension of colour. Low-clumping perennials such as saxifrages and sempervivums combine well with delicate flowers such as corncockles and windflowers. Check out the green roofs of the gardens Rooftop Workplace for Tomorrow and Out of the Blue.
© The Royal Horticultural Society 2013 RHS Registered Charity № 222879/SC038262