Living in the great outdoors really began 40 years ago when the idea that we could expand our living areas into our gardens first took root. This was the Golden Age of garden landscaping when anything was possible and for the first time a new generation of consumers had money to spend on their gardens.

Previously, apart from wealthy landowners the majority of gardens were a functional part of the home, somewhere to grow vegetables, hang out the washing and an area for the children and pets to play in.

As a landscaping company that celebrated its fortieth year in business with a show garden at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in July, we are proud to have witnessed and been part of the evolution of English garden design. Our show garden ‘The Living Room’ epitomises the 21st century trend, which really began in the very early 1970’s to turn our gardens into useful and attractive extensions of our homes. A place where we can seek a peaceful retreat from the hectic environment of work, or to simply step off from the ever faster moving pace of the world.

Our inclement weather has often been the reason we have not made the most of our gardens during the warmer months of the year. With verandas enjoying a revival and with weatherproof outdoor furniture all the rage we can now use our gardens long into the light summer evenings and even for longer periods of time during the cooler seasons of spring and autumn. Also, the beauty of this type of garden allows us more leisure time as it is designed to minimise the time we need to spend on maintaining lawns, hedges and borders.

Good garden design is a real art form and over the years has not always been given the credit it deserves, as the majority of us believe we can make our own gardens, which of course we can. However, for a garden to be a little more special and to bring together the house and garden in a complimentary manner, we really do need the talented eye of a good designer who can cleverly coordinate colours, textures and structures.

If you need inspiration or are simply looking for some ideas, please do take time to call into our garden centre in Titchfield where we have twelve new show gardens on display. Enjoy them - they have been forty years in the making.