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Before and after · gazebo garden · full sun

Garden gazebo ideas: a dry lawn redesigned as a cottage garden around an oak gazebo

A lawn gone brown and dry, an old summerhouse at the end of it with a patio of slabs in front, and black fences under mature trees. From one photo, it was redesigned as a cottage garden around a seat: an oak gazebo with a slate roof stands where the summerhouse was, a gravel path leads to it through lavender and catmint, deep borders of roses, delphiniums and lamb’s ears fill both sides, and clematis and roses climb the black fence behind it.

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After: the same plot as a cottage garden, an oak framed gazebo with a slate roof where the summerhouse was, a teak table and chairs under it, a gravel path through lavender and catmint, borders of pink roses, blue delphiniums and silver lamb’s ears on both sides, clematis and roses on the black fence either side of the gazebo
Before: the owner’s photo. After: the design drawn from it.
How it works

One photo of your garden, redrawn with a finished design

Shown with another design from the gallery. This cottage garden works the same way.

  1. A deep prairie border in a walled garden: purple salvia, orange geum, foxgloves, echinacea and lime green alchemilla spilling over a brick edge onto a lawn.The ideal design

    The garden you want

    A finished design from the gallery, with its planting and its materials.

  2. A different garden before any work: a plain rectangle of lawn between slatted timber fences, with a bench against a shed at the far end and two bare trees.Your garden

    Add your garden photo

    One picture of your garden that shows the whole plot.

  3. The same garden with that planting in it: a stone path winding to the same bench, echinacea, rudbeckia, liatris and grasses either side, the same fences, shed and trees kept.The result

    Your dream garden

    The same style of planting and the same materials, drawn around what was already there.

Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch

This makeover at a glance

Style
Cottage garden
Shape
A wide plot, with the seat at the far end
Light
Full sun, dry soil
Started as
A dry lawn, a summerhouse and a patio of slabs

Kept

  • The trees on the left and at the back
  • The black fences
  • The lantern on the left fence

Changed

  • An oak gazebo with a slate roof
  • A gravel path through lavender
  • Roses, delphiniums, silver leaves
  • Clematis and roses on black
In the design

Four garden gazebo ideas from this makeover

  1. An oak gazebo with a slate roof, close up in the design
    An old summerhouse, the same spot beforeBefore

    An old summerhouse An oak gazebo with a slate roof

    An oak gazebo where the summerhouse stood, as the seating area

    The owner asked for a seating area with a gazebo. In the design, an oak framed gazebo with a slate roof stands where the summerhouse was, with a teak table and chairs under it on a floor of stone slabs, terracotta pots beside it and a low brick wall behind the seats. A gazebo at the far end gives the garden somewhere to walk to, with a roof for the days the sun is too much.

  2. A gravel path through lavender, close up in the design
    A brown, dry lawn, the same spot beforeBefore

    A brown, dry lawn A gravel path through lavender

    A gravel path in place of the lawn, with lavender and catmint over its edges

    The dry lawn is not in the design. In its place, a path of buff gravel leads from the house to the gazebo, with lavender and catmint spilling over both edges and lamb’s ears at the front of the borders. On a plot in full sun with soil that dries out, the plants along it are the ones that like it dry, and gravel keeps its colour all summer.

  3. Roses, delphiniums, silver leaves, close up in the design
    A bed of shrubs on the left, the same spot beforeBefore

    A bed of shrubs on the left Roses, delphiniums, silver leaves

    Deep borders of roses, delphiniums and lamb’s ears on both sides

    The borders run the length of both fences: tall spires at the back, pink roses and lamb’s ears at the front, and lavender and catmint over the path. Blues, purples and pale pinks against silver leaves, so the two borders bring the same colours along both sides of the path.

  4. Clematis and roses on black, close up in the design
    Black fences, no climbers, the same spot beforeBefore

    Black fences, no climbers Clematis and roses on black

    The black fences and the trees kept, with clematis and roses climbing

    The fences stay black and the mature trees stay where they were, framing the garden. In the design, clematis and climbing roses cover the back fence either side of the gazebo, so the dark boundary carries flowers. Pale flowers show up against a black fence, which is why the design keeps it dark.

Before: a back garden with a brown, dry lawn, a pale blue summerhouse with glazed doors at the far end, a patio of slabs in front of it with stone planters, a bistro table and chairs, black stained fences on both sides, mature trees over the left fence and a neighbour’s bungalow over the right
Before: the owner’s photo.
Before

A lawn gone brown, an old summerhouse and a patio of slabs

A lawn gone brown and dry, a pale blue summerhouse with glazed doors at the far end, a patio of slabs in front of it with stone planters on it, a bistro table and chairs beside it, black stained fences on both sides, and mature trees over the left fence and the back. A neighbour’s bungalow shows over the fence on the right.

The design keeps the trees and the black fences where they were, and takes out the lawn and the summerhouse.

In the borders

Lavender, catmint and roses: the planting

All of them chosen for a cottage garden in full sun, on soil that dries out.

  1. LavenderAlong the path, on both sides
  2. CatmintAlong the path, with the lavender
  3. DelphiniumsBlue spires at the back
  4. Shrub rosesPale pink, at the front of both borders
  5. Lamb’s earsSilver leaves at the front
  6. SalviasPurple spikes in the middle
  7. ClematisOn the back fence, either side of the gazebo

With Pro, every design you make names every plant in it, how big each one grows, where it goes and when it flowers, so you know what to look for at the garden centre.

What you get

What comes back from one photo of your garden

  • Redesigned around your fences and trees. About two minutes after you add your photo, in the same style and materials as this garden.
  • Planting matched to your light and soil. Add your light and soil if you know them, and the planting follows them.
  • Every plant named, with Pro or Max. Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once. Every one names its plants, how big each grows, where it goes and when it flowers.
  • Built by a professional gardener. Real plants that grow in UK gardens.
Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch
Questions

Questions about this gazebo garden design

What can you do with a lawn that has gone brown in a dry summer?

This design draws a gravel path where the lawn is now, and borders take the rest, planted with lavender, catmint, salvias and lamb’s ears, which are happy in dry soil and full sun, and gravel keeps its colour all summer.

Does a gazebo suit a small or medium garden?

Yes, if it is the place the garden leads to. Here the gazebo stands at the far end where the summerhouse was, the path leads to a paved seat beneath it, and the borders run either side, so it reads as part of the garden.

How much does a garden makeover design like this cost?

Your first 3 garden designs are free, no card required. After that, Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once, every plant named in every one, and clean pictures to keep.

Is the after picture a real garden?

The before is the owner’s own photo. The after is the design Garden Design App drew from it, using real plants you can buy in the UK.

Keep reading

More before and after garden makeovers

After: the same strip as a planted courtyard, with a paved path through deep borders of lavender, purple salvias, coneflowers and grasses to a small table and chairs
Part sun · narrow plot

Wildlife garden makeover

A narrow strip of lawn, redesigned as a paved path between deep borders of lavender and salvias.

After: the same plot with a brick and stone path curving to the shed between deep borders of roses, delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves and peonies, with terracotta urns at the top of the path
Full sun · fenced plot

Cottage garden makeover

A bare, straw coloured lawn and a deck crowded with pots, redesigned as deep borders of roses, delphiniums and lupins.

After: the same garden as a Mediterranean gravel garden, with pale gravel, flagstone stepping stones, clipped olive trees in terracotta pots, drifts of lavender and a timber arch
Full sun · acid soil

Mediterranean garden makeover

A rectangle of lawn, redesigned as pale gravel, olive trees and drifts of lavender.

After: the same garden with an irregular stone path winding through grasses, white anemones, foxgloves and peonies to the chairs at the far end
Shade · town garden

Small town garden makeover

Long grass and a hosepipe in a shaded town garden, redesigned as a winding path through grasses and shade planting.

After: the same passage with a stone flag path running through deep shade planting of ferns, hostas, foxgloves, periwinkle and a Japanese maple against the fence
Deep shade · narrow run

Shady side passage makeover

The bit down the side where the bins live, redesigned as a shaded path of ferns, hostas and foxgloves.

After: the same yard with pale limestone paving, a curved lawn edged in brick and deep borders of catmint, salvias, coneflowers and climbing roses
Full sun · clay soil

Modern garden makeover

Slabs, bare soil and a blank brick gable, redesigned as curved lawn and deep planted borders.

After: the same plot as a meadow garden, with a stepping stone path through deep borders of purple salvias, crimson scabious, pink coneflowers and grasses, wisteria and clematis on the fence beneath the gable, and the deck edged with lavender
Part sun · clay

New build garden makeover

A rectangle of new turf beside a blank gable, redesigned as a meadow of salvias and scabious, with climbers on the fence and the shed.

After: the same plot as a white gravel garden, with one straight path of large grey slabs to a small patio under a white pergola, deep borders of white rock roses, lamb’s ears and white foxgloves along sage green fences, and agaves in terracotta pots
Full sun · clay

Long garden makeover

A long plot of grey gravel and slabs, redesigned as a white gravel garden with one slab path to a pergola at the far end.

After: the same plot as a cottage garden, the lawn replaced by beds of delphiniums, foxgloves and roses either side of a stepping stone path to a metal bench, climbing roses on the side fences, catmint at the foot of the wall, a terracotta pot on the step and thyme in the joints of the patio
Part sun

Tiered garden makeover

A slab patio, a step and a raised lawn, redesigned as a cottage garden with roses on the fences for privacy and a bench at the top.

After: the same view with the pergola in full wisteria flower over the deck, a lawn with curved edges and deep borders of foxgloves, mullein, geum, catmint and black eyed Susans, a path of sandstone slabs through gravel to a small sandstone patio with a bistro table and two chairs to the right of the lawn, and the brick walls and back shrubs where they were
Full sun

Wisteria pergola garden makeover

A patchy lawn under a wisteria pergola, redesigned as a curved lawn with deep borders for bees and a sandstone patio to the right of the lawn.

After: the same view with a path of grey and buff stone laid in herringbone curving down the middle to the foot of the spiral staircase, borders of Mexican feather grass, Japanese forest grass, blue fescue and heuchera on both sides with blue delphiniums and purple top verbena rising through them, lavender beside the path, lilac clematis and pale climbing roses on the fences, and the staircase, the brick house and the shrub where they were
Part sun · clay

Urban garden makeover

A narrow strip of artificial grass under a spiral staircase, redesigned as a curved herringbone path through borders of grasses and perennials.

After: the same view with paths of pale gravel winding out from the patio between drifts of purple salvias, lavender, pink coneflowers and yellow black eyed Susans, a small pond with a pebble edge and a stepping stone on the right, an untreated oak bench against the back fence, the fences stained a warm brown behind blue Californian lilac and orange firethorn, and the tree, the conifer and the patio where they were
Full sun · clay

Wildlife pond garden makeover

A wide lawn scorched brown, redesigned as a gravel garden with a small pebble edged pond, drifts for bees and an oak bench at the far end.

After: the design drawn from the patio edge, with a winding path of buff gravel held by low stone edging, deep borders on both sides of pink and white roses, astrantia, catmint, white foxgloves, blue delphiniums, sea holly, white brunnera and lady’s mantle, a white clematis over the trellis on the left, the yew where it was, the fences stained a warm brown and a weathered teak bench under the trees at the far end.
Full sun · acid

Winding path garden makeover

A lawn beside a patio, redesigned as a winding gravel path with low stone edging through deep borders of roses and catmint, to a bench under the trees.

After: a design drawn from the owner’s photo, with large grey slabs laid at an angle with dark pebbles between them, curved beds edged in metal holding New Zealand flax, agave, yucca, purple salvias, orange geum, white gaura and Mexican daisies, the fences stained charcoal with star jasmine on the right one, an L of teak seating built round a gas fire pit in the back corner, an olive tree in a tall planter beside it, the boarded wall and the potted shrub where they were, and the neighbours’ brick houses and roofs beyond.
Light and soil not recorded

Fire pit garden makeover

A lawn gone brown between a boarded wall and a fence, redesigned as a paved garden with slabs floating in pebbles, architectural planting and teak seating built round a fire pit.

After: the same garden drawn as a cottage garden, a flagstone path down the left, a circular lawn in the middle, deep borders of blue delphiniums, pink and white foxgloves, purple hardy geraniums, pink and peach roses, catmint and box balls, espalier fruit trees on the wall at the back, a timber arch, oak table and chairs on pea gravel at the far end, and roses and lilac clematis on the warm stained fence.
Full sun (the design’s notes) · soil not recorded

Cottage garden plan makeover

A lawn beside a concrete path, redesigned as an English cottage garden: a circular lawn in deep borders, a flagstone path, espaliers on the wall and oak seating on gravel at the end.

Transform My Garden like this