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Before and after · wisteria pergola · full sun

Wisteria pergola garden ideas: the pergola kept, the patchy lawn redesigned with curved borders for bees

A timber pergola thick with wisteria over a deck, and beyond it a patchy lawn with a goal, a paddling pool, a rotary washing line and a patch of gravel, between two brick walls. From one photo, it was redesigned around the pergola: the wisteria stays overhead, a curved lawn with deep borders takes the place of the patchy grass, a path of sandstone slabs winds through gravel to a small patio with a bistro table to the right of the lawn, and the borders are planted for bees with foxgloves, catmint and geum.

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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
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 neat wildlife 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
Neat wildlife garden
Shape
A rectangle, 12 by 20 metres, with the deck at the house end
Light
Full sun
Started as
A patchy lawn, a gravel patch and a washing line, under a wisteria pergola

Kept

  • The pergola and its wisteria
  • The decking
  • The brick walls on both sides
  • The shrubs across the back

Changed

  • Wisteria in flower, a garden beyond
  • A curved lawn, deep borders
  • A sandstone patio, a slab path
  • Foxgloves, catmint, geum
In the design

A wisteria pergola and an oval lawn: four ideas from this makeover

  1. Wisteria in flower, a garden beyond, close up in the design
    Wisteria in leaf, a lawn beyond, the same spot beforeBefore

    Wisteria in leaf, a lawn beyond Wisteria in flower, a garden beyond

    The wisteria pergola kept over the decking, as the frame for the whole view

    The owner’s brief was to keep the pergola and the wisteria overhead, and the design does. The timber pergola stays over the deck with its wisteria in flower, and everything beyond it is redrawn to be looked at from under it: the lawn, the borders and the seat to the right of it. A pergola over decking makes the deck the room the garden is looked at from, which is why the lawn and the borders are drawn to be seen from there.

  2. A curved lawn, deep borders, close up in the design
    A patchy rectangle of grass, the same spot beforeBefore

    A patchy rectangle of grass A curved lawn, deep borders

    A curved lawn with deep borders, in place of the patchy rectangle

    In the design the lawn is given curved edges with deep borders wrapping round it, deepest at the back where the foxgloves and mullein stand. A curved edge takes the eye round the garden instead of straight to the back wall, and the curves give the borders the depth that full planting needs.

  3. A sandstone patio, a slab path, close up in the design
    Gravel and a washing line, the same spot beforeBefore

    Gravel and a washing line A sandstone patio, a slab path

    A sandstone patio to the right of the lawn, with a path of slabs through gravel

    Where the gravel patch and the washing line were, the design lays a small patio of sandstone slabs with a bistro table and two chairs, and a path of the same slabs set in gravel winds from the deck to it. The patio sits to the right of the lawn among the borders, so the garden has two places to sit and a walk between them.

  4. Foxgloves, catmint, geum, close up in the design
    Shrubs and bare grass, the same spot beforeBefore

    Shrubs and bare grass Foxgloves, catmint, geum

    Borders for bees that still look neat: foxgloves, catmint and geum

    The brief asked for wild flowers that look neat, and the design answers with garden plants the bees use: foxgloves and mullein at the back, geum and black eyed Susans through the middle, catmint and hardy geraniums at the front. The crisp lawn edge keeps a border full of pollinator plants looking neat from the house.

Before: a back garden seen from a deck under a timber pergola heavy with wisteria leaf, a patchy lawn with a small football goal and a blue paddling pool, a rotary washing line over a patch of gravel on the right, brick walls on both sides, shrubs across the back and a neighbour’s roof above them
Before: the owner’s photo.
Before

A patchy lawn, a gravel patch and a washing line, seen from under the pergola

A timber pergola heavy with wisteria leaf over a grey deck, a potted plant against its post and a folding chair beside it. Beyond, a patchy lawn with a small football goal and a blue paddling pool, a rotary washing line over a patch of gravel on the right, brick walls on both sides, shrubs across the back and a neighbour’s roof above them.

The design keeps the pergola, the wisteria, the deck and the walls where they were, reshapes the lawn, and takes out the gravel patch, the washing line, the goal and the pool.

In the borders

Foxgloves, catmint and geum: the planting for bees

All of them chosen for full sun and for the bees, in a garden that has to look tidy.

  1. WisteriaOverhead on the pergola, the one the garden already had
  2. FoxglovesSpires at the back
  3. MulleinTall spires at the back
  4. GeumOrange, through the middle
  5. Black eyed SusansYellow, through the middle
  6. CatmintPurple, at the front
  7. Hardy geraniumsBlue, at the front
  8. LavenderGrey leaved, at the front

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 wisteria pergola design

Can you keep an old pergola and its wisteria in a new garden design?

Yes, and here it is the whole point. The pergola and its wisteria stay exactly where they were, and the design is drawn from under them, so the lawn, the borders and the patio are laid out as the view from the deck.

Why a curved lawn rather than a rectangle?

A curved edge leaves room for deeper borders at the back and along the sides, so the planting wraps round the lawn instead of lining it, with the patio beside it and a curve for the path to follow.

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
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Wildlife garden makeover

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.

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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.

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Gazebo garden makeover

A lawn gone brown and dry and an old summerhouse, redesigned as a cottage garden with an oak gazebo and a gravel path through lavender.

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
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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.

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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.
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Winding path garden makeover

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Light and soil not recorded

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Cottage garden plan makeover

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Transform My Garden like this