Episode 3 – Creating an edible, modern garden
Creating a garden that is full of edibles AND looks good, can be quite a daunting challenge. In this episode, landscape designer, Rachel Mathews, will show you how she transformed a garden in Malaysia into a contemporary, food-producing garden.
This episode also looks at how to correctly place focal points like garden statues and water features correctly around the garden. Placing focal points in the correct position in your garden makes a tremendous difference to how you view it. Rachel will show you how the best locations to put any garden feature.
There are also tips on how to place landscape lighting around your garden to enhance the design and make it look spectacular at night. There’s a trick to successfully lighting a garden well and Rachel will show you exactly what you need to do.
Competition time!
What was it that made the garden featured on today’s show modern and not traditional?
Rachel will randomly pick a winner from the correct answers and she will email you if you are a winner! Good luck.
What else would you like to see featured in future Garden Design Show episodes?
Is there something you are struggling with in your garden that you’d like some advice on? Let Rachel know what topics you’d like her to cover for you in future episodes in the comment boxes below.
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52 replies to "[DESIGN SHOW 3] – Edible, modern landscape design with focal point and lighting design tips"
How to design an edible, modern garden – episode 3 now showing!
How disappointing to follow the video for 13 minutes and nobe shown the finished garden.
Hi Andrew,
It was a garden I’d only just finished designing. Don’t worry though, the owner has said she’ll keep me posted on it’s progress, so there will be a follow up video later in the year, so you’ll be able to see how it turned out.
Ideas for a smallish wide garden that needs a large grass area for children and dog to play.
Thanks Eileen – there's a couple of wide gardens coming up in the next two shows, so hopefully that will provide you with some ideas for your garden.
Great show. Modern garden features are- simple shapes, preferably with sharp edges, use of limited amount (up to 3)of modern materials for landscaping, plants with distinctive shape preferably repetitive, modern lightning and features
Great answer Larysa – you'll be able to find out if you are right on next week's garden design show!
Great videos- am finding them really helpful with my garden design studies!
Thanks Wayne – I’m really pleased to hear you’re finding the show useful 🙂
Thanks Wayne – I'm really pleased to hear you're finding the show useful 🙂
I'd also add- use of modern elements in the focal points- so out with formal statues and in with something more contemporary, eg modern wooden sculpture might go nice here
Hi Rachel. I'm learning lots from your show -thank you. The garden has a modern feel because of the choice/finish of the hard landscaping materials used.
Thanks Wayne – yes you are right, they certainly would look good in this type of garden.
Thank you for making these videos. I love your designs!
Thank you so much – I’m really pleased you’re enjoying the videos 🙂
Thank you so much – I'm really pleased you're enjoying the videos 🙂
Great comment about not stopping the eye at the edge of the patio, please
continue and address what would be better/best solution? (plants to soften
the edge? ) 🙂
Fabulous series, too, am thrilled and am telling all my friends!
ha  My question applies to NEXT video!! LOL  Will go over there and re-post. grin!!
ha  My question applies to NEXT video!! LOL  Will go over there and re-post. grin!!
Great comment about not stopping the eye at the edge of the patio, please continue and address what would be better/best solution? (plants to soften the edge? ) 🙂
Fabulous series, too, am thrilled and am telling all my friends!
I’m very happy I found your videos! Great designs and ideas. So inspiring
for me!
I was wondering if the design plan you showing in this video was made in
some design program or u drawing all by hand? Love the effect.
Thank you Aneta, I’m so glad to hear that! I currently draw the plans by hand (I spend too much time on a computer as it is!). I do sometimes add the colour in Photoshop though, but that’s usually coloured ink.
I’m very happy I found your videos! Great designs and ideas. So inspiring for me!Â
I was wondering if the design plan you showing in this video was made in some design program or u drawing all by hand? Love the effect.
Thank you Aneta, I'm so glad to hear that! I currently draw the plans by hand (I spend too much time on a computer as it is!). I do sometimes add the colour in Photoshop though, but that's usually coloured ink.
Thank you, you look like a fantastic Designer, great stuff Thank you again.
+Peter Nelson Thank you so much for your support 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed the video. Any questions – please do let me know.
I am an interior design architect and I love designing Landscapes as well.
I loooooooove looove looove your videos its like a dream come true to find
such helpful videos in landscaping. Every video I watch inspires me and
adds lots of ideas and techniques. God bless you and make every hard easy
in your life as you make things easy for us. Keep up the great work and
good luck.
+Nouf J Thank you so much, some more videos coming for you soon :o)
I am an interior design architect and I love designing Landscapes as well. I loooooooove looove looove your videos its like a dream come true to find such helpful videos in landscaping. Every video I watch inspires me and adds lots of ideas and techniques. God bless you and make every hard easy in your life as you make things easy for us. Keep up the great work and good luck.
Great advice on the lighting.
+frijebai Thank you 🙂
Just came across your videos tonight, and you’ve made my backyard plan seem
so woefully inadequate :-)This was my plan –
http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/backyard-plan-oct2015.jpg. And this
was how I looked a few months ago –
http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/backyard-08092015.jpg. I was going to
put fruits/veggies all around the perimeter, and the grass for the pooch. I
don’t really want to do raised beds, and want to do Back to Eden style for
growing the fruits/veggies. But you’ve really got me thinking I should do
so much more with it on the design side now. And my pooch probably doesn’t
need THAT much grass, and he might like some more adventurous surroundings
to explore as well. I just found your site, so now want to watch your other
videos. And you may have this already. But if not, that’s a video I’d be
interested in – how to design a pooch-friendly garden, not just one that
has dog-friendly plants (although that’s an important piece); but rather
how to do the layout in a way that gives the dog an interesting place to
explore and protect, while not destroying things as he trounces across
them. And designing in a potty spot for him, too.
+Gregory Thomson Thank you so much and I’m glad you’ve liked the video and it was useful to you. Making a video about creating a dog-friendly garden is a great idea. I will definitely consider doing it in the future. Thank you for suggestions it and good luck with your garden 🙂
+Successful Garden Design I have my version 2 design here, which i think is better than the last(?) – https://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/backyard.jpg;I think there are pieces that just aren’t flowing right, and I’m sure you see those. I also need a potty spot for the pooch – I’m thinking a third circle grass area on the right side – he likes that area go do his business. The two side pathways I think would be DG. But I’m missing something on the shapes. Am I on the right track, and how would you make it more smooth flowing?” Sprinkler valves are on the left/right of the bottom side of th patio – so that’s hard to change. What’s important for the pooch, I think, is to be able to make the rounds on the perimery.
Hi Gregory, thank you so much for your comment I am delighted to hear that you are enjoying the videos. I will definitely consider doing the show on a more friendly dog garden. Sounds like an awesome idea and something many of our viewers would be interested in. Thank you and best of luck with your garden 🙂
Just came across your videos tonight, and you’ve made my backyard plan seem so woefully inadequate :-)This was my plan – http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/backyard-plan-oct2015.jpg. And this was how I looked a few months ago – http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/backyard-08092015.jpg. I was going to put fruits/veggies all around the perimeter, and the grass for the pooch. I don’t really want to do raised beds, and want to do Back to Eden style for growing the fruits/veggies. But you’ve really got me thinking I should do so much more with it on the design side now. And my pooch probably doesn’t need THAT much grass, and he might like some more adventurous surroundings to explore as well. I just found your site, so now want to watch your other videos. And you may have this already. But if not, that’s a video I’d be interested in – how to design a pooch-friendly garden, not just one that has dog-friendly plants (although that’s an important piece); but rather how to do the layout in a way that gives the dog an interesting place to explore and protect, while not destroying things as he trounces across them. And designing in a potty spot for him, too.
good video
Thank you so much, Rit y 🙂
Great overview thanks so much for a comprehensive design inspiration.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Lainie. I appreciate your support!
I really appreciate you getting into the details of design principles in a
systematic way. I just acquired 1.5 acres and will be doing some massive
gardening. One thing I would suggest is to try to show the before and after
pictures, if the after part is available. For layman such as myself it’s a
bit hard to visualize the garden from eye-level, just by looking at the
top-down drawing.
I am so delighted to hear that you are enjoying the video and thank you so much for the “before” and “after” suggestion. I will post “before” and “after” pictures if I have them available. Thank you so much for your support and best of luck with your garden 🙂
I really appreciate you getting into the details of design principles in a systematic way. I just acquired 1.5 acres and will be doing some massive gardening. One thing I would suggest is to try to show the before and after pictures, if the after part is available. For layman such as myself it’s a bit hard to visualize the garden from eye-level, just by looking at the top-down drawing.
Excellent advice. I like your approach very much.
Thank you so much, Brian 🙂
*Since I brought  [Details Here==**https://plus.google.com/u/1/110086446704524205338/posts/HrzGjo6aFKc** ] this landscaping program, my home has been cool at first but started looking weird until I consulted the experts who rescued my troubles and now things are now better in the sight.*
You live in uk near menchester?
Exacto
Eso era lo que buscaba
Ahora en computadora
Un vÃdeo demostración del jardÃn
Por cierto tienes una bonita sonrisa cuándo se ven los dientes de enfrenté