Styling your garden isn’t just about planting flowers, it’s about creating an outdoor space that feels like home. In this special feature, we’ve teamed up with award-winning designer and writer Kirsty McLean of The Garden Design Company Scotland, a garden design expert with whom we work closely on showhomes. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for practical beauty, Kirsty shares professional tips to help you transform your garden into a welcoming, stylish retreat.

Based in Aberdeen, with a hands-on, client-focused approach, Kirsty - from 2001 to 2016 - was the designer for BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden, and since 1999 has created hundreds of residential, commercial, and community gardens of all sizes, specialising in holistic design, planting schemes, discreet lighting, and garden styling.

Kirsty writes:

Whatever your size of outdoor space, understanding how it rolls is important if you want to make the most of it.

Be clear about where your boundaries are officially, note what the orientation of the space is to the sun. Pay attention to the wind and where sheltered spots are and whether you have any privacy issues.

Make up a storyboard of gardens you like but also gardens you don’t like and analyse what is common to both likes and dislikes. This research will allow you to develop your own style, whether that be classical, contemporary, traditional, informal…. Observe the shape of your garden and think about your style choice/s and explore how these elements can live happily together.

Now, you are in a pretty good place to start positioning seating areas, play areas, dining, focal points etc. This is called ‘zoning’ and it’s a super-useful thing do to make the most of your garden. It’s a bit like what we naturally do with the interior of our living space - kitchen, sitting room or open plan etc.

Once you have the structure of your design, along with your style, you can now start to think about furniture, lighting and of course, plants!

The shapes you have chosen for paved seating areas, will guide you regarding choice of shapes for furniture. Styling, through use of occasional tables, rugs, planters, lanterns/lights will bring the character to your garden. Doing another storyboard for this is helpful. Pay attention to colours, create a colour palette that you feel connected to and be intentional about colour-use. Lighting should always be subtle. Warm white, LED garden spike lights in the ground, festoon lights on the fence, shed or over a pergola or arch along with ground lanterns, (many are USB rechargeable now) will create a magical feel to your garden.

Deciding on your planting scheme requires time and knowledge, not to mention a budget! But start by thinking about how much time you have or want to spend in the garden looking after it and that might help you make choices that are appropriate for your lifestyle. None of us wants to be a slave to the garden but equally, no plants would make a garden a bit dull! Don’t be afraid of just using planters and pots if your space is small or you have a courtyard garden. Easier to keep plants in the ground would be trees (make sure you choose wisely regarding final height and spread for the space & stake them well!) climbers (make sure they have support wires) a skeleton of evergreen plants/shrubs (again make sure their mature height & spread is appropriate to the space) throughout the garden/border and then perennials (come up again every year) and bulbs will give you that splash of colour and together they provide biodiversity! Then, just sit back and enjoy the wildlife as they move in!

Whether you're moving into a new Scotia home, or simply upgrading your own garden, Kirsty tailors every design for each individual and provides exceptional service for all.

Visit The Garden Design Company Scotland website here.