How to create a dream garden if you’re renting a property

Chelsea gold-medal winner Jamie Butterworth has been a renter all his adult life. This is how he makes the most of his outdoor space

It is possible to create an 'amazing space' when making the most of a garden in a rented residence, says Jamie Butterworth. Picture: Alamy/PA

Garden designer and nurseryman Jamie Butterworth, who helped create Monty Don’s Dog Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, has been a renter all his adult life.

The 30-year-old newlywed Chelsea gold-medal winner, owner of nursery Form Plants, moved a month ago to a rented house in Windsor, which has a courtyard back garden measuring 2m wide by 5m long and a similar amount of space at the front. “I’ve always been a renter,” says Butterworth, author of What Grows Together: Fail-safe Plant Combinations For Every Garden.