Fritha Waters of Reepham understands the importance of lovely gardens at the best of times, but believes they have become even more critical during lockdown.
 
Interest in gardening has seen a significant rise during the Covid-19 pandemic: people have been looking at their gardens with new eyes and noticing where change is needed, she said.
 
In addition, gardening has played an important role in maintaining physical and mental health and well-being during the months of limited contact with the outside world.
 
Ms Waters’ latest venture aims to enhance the feel-good factor of gardens and bring new life to tired spaces without the cost of a complete redesign.
 
Her Feature Flower Beds are a set of garden concepts that have a theme and a general design template, but which can be adapted and adjusted to suit many different garden sizes, shapes and types.
 
The concepts focus on planting rather than hard landscaping, and are both affordable and flexible.
 
Ms Waters explained the idea behind Feature Flower Beds: “It’s a bit like a feature wall in a house.
 
“It brings colour, pattern and interest to the garden – it’s the focus of the space, using shrubs, climbers and flowers to make the garden come alive.”
 
She has started with four Feature Flower Bed concepts, which she has just launched on her new website: the Fairytale Garden, the Sweetshop Garden, the Fire Garden and the Winter Garden.
 
Ms Waters offers a flexible service, which includes preparation and planting and a promise to keep an eye on the bed to ensure it develops as planned.
 
“I generally use small, affordable plants that take three to four years to get to their optimum size for the space, although I can plant larger specimens if customers have the budget for it,” she said.
 
“I provide a handbook to explain how to care for their new plants, but if they have any questions, I’m always happy to have a chat”.
 
Ms Waters understands the hesitation some gardeners feel about making drastic changes.
 
“We’ve all bought something for our gardens that seemed like a good idea at the time, but which simply didn’t work in the space,” she said.
 
“My Feature Flower Beds use plants that work together to create something that isn’t just stunning, but also has balance and resilience.”
 
Ms Waters has been designing, creating and maintaining gardens for customers for the past five years.
 
She has gained qualifications through the Royal Horticultural Society, Peter Beales Roses and Broadacre Gardens, giving her a mix of garden design and plant care skills.
 
Fritha Waters Gardening
Tel: 01603 873007/07724 551191