Soto Journal & Inspiration

Soto co-founder and Creative Director Will Williams on bringing the show-garden aesthetic to small spaces

Show gardens are judged on numerous factors such as atmosphere, planting choices and ambition. To give your garden a little wow factor, try to achieve some of these things in your space.

Will Williams, Soto’s Creative Director and winner of several RHS medal-winning gardens, explains how to create the show-garden look in a small urban outside space

Petite spaces can easily become cluttered, so keep things simple, clean and elegant whether that is with colour, planting or materials. Show gardens are judged on numerous factors such as atmosphere, planting choices and ambition. To give your garden a little wow factor, try to achieve some of these things in your space.

A great way to start is to look up. Use the space above you to make your little garden feel bigger. Plant smaller trees in pots to add height without taking up too much room. Climbers such as jasmine or climbing hydrangeas, will draw the eye up. Make sure the pots are beautiful as well as functional.

Consider the amount of maintenance you would like to do. Would you prefer a glass of rosé or a trowel in your hand on a sunny weekend afternoon? If you’d rather be relaxing, shrubs and especially evergreens offer low-maintenance impact. Pines are architectural, popular and relatively low-maintenance. The Soto collections are designed to be easy to care for, but the Soto Green collection is especially laid back.

The amount of light your garden gets will affect your planting choices. City gardens are often in partial or full shade. Research which plants will do best in the aspect of your garden. At Soto, we list our plants and border collections according to the aspect they thrive under.

Your garden is an extension of your home; it should be another room where you can relax and entertain. Often, your outside space can be seen from the principal rooms so seasonal interest is key. The Soto collections have been designed to offer year-round interest, whether in pots or borders.

Get the basics right at the start to maximise your investment. Ensuring your plant choices can tolerate the soil in your garden, creating enough drainage, and watering correctly all sound simple but they form the foundation of a healthy and thriving outside space that will bring the wow factor to your home.