Gardening is an enjoyable hobby that can keep you fit, tap into your creative skills, is a rewarding experience and can even make you money by adding value to your property. Attractive gardens can add 20% to the value of a property according to the Estate Agent Society.

You don’t have to be a Garden Designer to create an attractive garden. What you need to know are a few basics and some gardening advice such as;

• Which garden plants will suit your garden conditions?

• Which plant will grow in your soil?

• Which plants will grow in full sun, partial shade and full shade?

• When are the plants in flower or looking their best?

• How to look after them?

Planning and designing a garden with seasonal colour, texture and interest is the fun creative part and you can pay a lot of money to garden designers for their expert advice. However, finding out which plants will suit your garden are available in books and magazines and by searching the Internet. Some people could consider these to be quite time-consuming and laborious, but it can also be fun researching your ideal plants.

Alternatively, if you have a computer, save time and effort by using an interactive garden plant finder and pruning guide CD-ROM which selects from your choice of colour, month, season, aspect, soil type, height and plant name, then a simple click of the mouse displays the plants to suit your needs.

Only choose plants that will suit your garden. If you have a small garden, select those plants that won’t out-grow your limited space. If you want a low maintenance garden select plants that don’t need a lot of pruning or feeding. There are about 73,000 plants to choose from so there is no end to the fun you can have creating the garden design of your dreams.

It’s quite a good idea to start your design by selecting plants to give your garden some structure. Shrubs are good plants for this and come in a multitude of colours, shapes and sizes. Check the height and spread of the shrubs before planting so that you don’t position them too close together.

Climbers will add height and colour to your garden. You can select climbers that will flower early in the season and then select others to flower later in the year and maybe select some to have attractive autumn foliage.

Annuals will grow and flower in the same year and provide almost instant colour whilst the plants in your borders have time to grow and mature. Annuals can be bought as seedlings or easily grown from seed.

Grasses provide texture and movement in a garden and most can be cut back to ground level the following spring.

Don’t only choose a garden plant because it has an attractive flower. There are fabulous foliage plants to consider like ferns and hostas that love the shade areas of your garden and will reward you with luscious colour and texture.

A garden doesn’t just have to look attractive in the summer months, it is also important to select plants for spring, summer, autumn and winter. You will be surprised at how many plants there are that have attractive flowers, berries and bark to liven up any cold grey winter days.

Pruning is important as it keeps the plants in shape and encourages healthy new growth. You will need pruning advice for each plant in your garden and a plant calendar list which reminds you when and how to prune them.

Propagation of your plants and growing from seeds are very rewarding and satisfying because not only are you creating new plants but you’re also saving money.

Gardening will keep you fit. Any gardener will tell you that digging and weeding can provide you with a very good work-out.