What’s your new book about? I wanted to simplify what is quite complicated jargon in garden design, planting and landscaping. I’m on garden number three now, and when I created my first two, I taught myself the fundamentals of planting and design, and how to build a patio and lay a path, by watching videos and reading books. I’m now a trained garden designer and The Weekend Gardener condenses everything I’ve learned in one place – what would Henry of eight years ago like to have known? When I started posting on Instagram, I had a corporate job, so the book shows you can create a beautiful garden on weekends. Many of the projects can be completed in one or two weekends and there are time-management strategies too, such as the power hour or a 20-minute high-intensity session.
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Can you share advice from the book? Don’t be put off by funky terms or what cement or concrete is – it’s just mixing stuff and getting ratios right. Give it a go. Also, don’t rush things. Do it nice or do it twice. If you’re not happy with something you’ve built, take it up and do it again – that’s how you learn.
What first sparked your interest in gardening? My dad had lovely gardens and my grandparents were keen gardeners. But I never knew I loved gardening until we got our first house eight years ago. We were still moving stuff in and I’d already started knocking down a rotten shed.
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What’s your new garden like? It is about 20m by 15m, a quarter of the size of the previous garden, and a blank canvas. I originally designed something very show garden-esque, as it needs to have the wow factor for my content. My wife said, “Where are the kids?” I don’t want to be the dad who’s funny about footballs, so now the design has them in mind.
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What do you like to read or listen to? I listen to a lot of self-improvement podcasts, like Diary of a CEO and the High Performance podcast. I get inspired by people at the top of their game with incredible backstories. I also consume a lot of online content because I’m always looking to elevate my brand and do things differently.
What’s your biggest gardening mistake? I spent days doing a brick path, then chose the wrong day to mix some liquid grout, which I hadn’t used before, to apply to the joints. Because it was sunny and hot, it dried in about five minutes and literally caked the whole surface. I had to cut a whole section out and start again. And when I started composting, I worked under the assumption that you can compost everything if you keep the heap hot enough. In my first garden I composted all the perennial weeds, including creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans). I covered the garden with it and never got rid of it.
Do you have a guilty gardening secret? I’m a very keen gardener, but I’m super lazy and choose plants that are tough and reliable. I don’t have the time to water and maintain my garden because I’m always doing other people’s. I’ll water new plants in for two or three weeks, then they’re on their own. If you water them frequently, plants can get reliant – and if there’s a drought, they’ll shrivel and die. Treat them mean and keep them keen is my philosophy. Chop and drop is a sustainable and lazy way of mulching your garden.
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Do you have a favourite garden or landscape to visit? I love the South Downs, on our doorstep. I worked in Borde Hill Garden as a volunteer when I was starting out – a lovely, privately run garden.
What else are you up to now? We’re now going to do design and build. I love being practical, and left my job because I needed to be outdoors. I also like control over the finish. Small to medium-sized gardens are my sweet spot as you have to think about every square inch. I’ll also be building our own garden, and I’ll see where this book takes me…
Follow Henry on Instagram @henryagg
