Our Front Garden Finally Looks Like We Know What We're Doing

I am definitely not a gardener. In fact, some people would probably describe me as a bit of a plant killer. I honestly couldn’t tell you the difference between a weed and a flower half the time, so anything involving plants usually feels a little out of my comfort zone.

That said, I do love a beautiful garden. There’s something so calming about having an outdoor space to escape to, whether it’s for a morning coffee, an evening drink or just a few minutes in the sunshine. I feel really lucky that we have a good sized back garden to enjoy, and this year we’ve also been trying to make more of our front garden too.

We recently invested in some Corten steel planters for the front of the house, but then came the obvious question... what on earth do we put in them? I wanted something that looked lovely all year round, suited the space and, most importantly, didn’t rely on me suddenly becoming an expert gardener overnight.

That’s when I came across Soto Gardens.

They create planting collections based on your garden, taking into account things like the size of your planters and how much sun the area gets. It sounded ideal for someone like me, who wants everything to look nice but has absolutely no idea where to start.

What I liked most was that it took all the decision making out of the process. Instead of wandering around a garden centre picking plants because they looked pretty (which is usually my approach), everything had already been chosen to work well together.

There are a few different collections to choose from depending on the look you’re after. Soto Classic mixes structured planting with colourful flowers, Soto House has a timeless mix of greens, whites and purples, Soto White creates a fresh, calming look, Soto Evergreen is designed to stay looking good all year with very little maintenance, while Soto Green is full of lush foliage and texture. There’s even a pet-friendly collection if you have curious dogs or cats.

If your garden is a bit of an awkward shape or you have an unusual border to fill, they also offer a service called Soto Odd. They'll create a bespoke planting plan designed specifically for your space, and the £150 design fee is redeemable against your plant order. I think it's a really nice option if you want something more tailored but still don't know where to begin.

The website gives you clear instructions on how to order. You choose from sunny, partial or shade and wide or narrow spaces and then you just select the length of your spot. You can add in compost, bark and tools to your order too.

Our front garden gets sun for most of the day, so we chose the Soto House collection. It included Hydrangea Little Lime, Mexican Feather Grass, Ilex Domes, Catmint and Astrantia ‘Star of Billions’ – all selected to work well in a sunny spot.

Everything arrived safely packed in nine boxes, and I was genuinely impressed with how well protected the plants were. Nothing had moved during delivery, and each plant looked really healthy

They also sent a detailed planting guide based exactly on our planters, so we knew exactly where every plant should go. There was no guessing, no moving things around ten times and no panicking that we'd got it wrong. For someone who's completely clueless when it comes to gardening, it made the whole process feel so much easier.

Before we got started, I also had a look through the guides and videos on the Soto Gardens website. There are loads of helpful tips covering everything from watering your plants to looking after hydrangeas over winter. There was even a video showing exactly what to do when your plants arrive, which was reassuring for a complete beginner like me.

In total we planted around 32 plants, and thanks to the planting guide it only took us a few hours.

As well as their ready-made planting collections, Soto Gardens also sell individual indoor and outdoor plants, along with smaller planting combinations if you don’t have a huge space to fill. It’s a great option if you like the idea of a well-planned garden but don’t really know where to begin. (like me)

I’m really looking forward to watching everything grow over the coming months. Hopefully this is the start of me becoming slightly less of a plant killer... although I wouldn’t place any bets just yet! I’ll be sure to share an update next year and let you know how it’s all getting on.

*Soto Gardens kindly gifted us these plants