Features: Planting schemes and design ideas

Hugo Bugg's 'The Albert Dock Garden' shows how height can be worked into a small design.

Hugo used a 3 stemmed, 5 metre Silver Birch (Betula Pendula) which adds another dimension to his garden without leaving it feeling overcrowded.

The Birch has an open, airy crown which lets dappled sunlight through. He has also had a bespoke grille made to surround the base of the trunk, this elevates the garden from what could have looked like simple pavement planting, adding a stylish finishing touch.

Hugo won Best in Show for this memorable show garden and was the winner of the Young Designer Competition.

'Visit Plantation: Colonial Chic and Bajan Roots', designed by Andy Yates and Mathew Tucker, makes the most of it's limited space by a simple change of angle.

By moving the axis of the garden by 45 degrees, mundane straight beds and paving become triangles, increasing the sense of space in the garden whilst making space for larger specimens, such as these lovely tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica).

'Dressed in Black' by Clive Scott turns traditional design rules on their head by making black and near-black planting the design focal point rather than simply the backdrop. The planting combinations here are particularly effective.

For example, Clive has teamed Cosmos atrosanguineus Chocamocha with Carex comans bronze-leaved and the combination really brings out the best in both.

This is a really good example of mixing two plants together. At a distance, the Carex seems to form a cloud with the dark Cosmos flowers appearing to float above.

In the flowerbed competition, 'Centenary Celebration' by Stoke-on-Trent City Council won Best in Show with its commemoration of of the first council meeting 100 years ago.

The centre-piece is a cake of flowers using Alyssum 'Easter Bonnet Mixed. as the icing with Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls' dripping from the sides to create a truly sumptuous display!

Watch a film with Andy Finch of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, in which he explains how to make a flower bed in five easy stages.

The parks department in St. Helier, Jersey returned for a second year with their flowerbed, 'Jersey Milk - Simply the Best'.

The plants have been chosen to create the most eye-catching effect, combining dark leaved Coleus (Solenostemon 'Dark Chocolate') with Begonia 'Devil Bronze Red' and dwarf Sunflower 'Miss Sunshine'. The bright yellow of the sunflowers just bursts out from the dark foliage of the Begonia and Coleus.