In the height of summer – particularly after the long, hot weather we’ve been having lately – it’s not uncommon to find bare patches in your garden.
Whether a plant has finished flowering, flopped or simply failed to thrive, these gaps can make borders look a little disappointing, especially when you’re entertaining guests outdoors. Luckily, there are clever ways to disguise patchy spots while you decide what your garden really needs.
'Bare patches are completely normal, particularly in late summer when some plants have finished flowering or flopped, but I don’t think the answer is always to rush out and buy more plants,' says Andrew Jackson, award winning garden writer, designer and founder of The New Build Manifesto.
'There are plenty of quick ways to disguise a gap while you work out what the garden actually needs.'
We asked experts for their top tips on how to cover up the bare patches on your lawn.
1) Fill it with pots
'My favourite trick is to use pots almost as movable planting. A large container of grasses, dahlias, salvias or even a small shrub can be dropped into a border where something has left a hole. It gives you instant height and colour, and you can simply move it somewhere else when the border fills out again,' says Andrew.
2) Turn it into a garden feature
'You could also turn a troublesome bare patch into an intentional feature by adding gravel and placing a decorative bird bath, container or piece of garden sculpture on top,' says Amber Tunney, plant buyer at Cherry Lane Garden Centres.
3) Add stepping stones
'For bare patches in high-traffic areas of the lawn, try adding stepping stones. They’ll make the area look more intentional while also helping to protect the surrounding soil and plants,' Amber adds.
4) Plant ground cover
If you do want to use plants to cover your garden's patches, there are plenty of handy options too. 'Ground cover plants are one of the best and most natural ways to fill bare patches of soil, particularly underneath shrubs or around the edges of borders,' Amber explains.
'Hardy geraniums can work particularly well in shady areas, but always check their eventual spread, as some ground cover plants can become a little more enthusiastic than you bargained for!'
5) Fill gaps with annuals
'Annuals are another inexpensive solution. Cosmos, calendula and nasturtiums can quickly fill awkward gaps, while self seeders such as nigella and forget me nots gradually create that wonderfully relaxed feeling where plants appear to have found their own places,' says Andrew.
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