Stortford Fields: The first-time buyer on a mission to show that boxy newbuild gardens can be a beautiful haven for wildlife

Artifical turf, plastic plants, porcelain tiles, lack of trees and plants… newbuild gardens certainly have a ‘look’.

But all gardens were once new gardens, so why are we all now opting for a Love Island aesthetic over a traditional garden?

First-time buyers Charlotte and Ben Owers moved into their Stortford Fields newbuild home in June 2020, having been renting a flat in the Maltings in Sawbridgeworth.

Since then they have spent almost the last four years transforming it into a characterful haven for wildlife.

With no prior gardening experience at all, just learning as they go, the 34-year-old couple have created it all themselves.

What started as a 12m (39ft 4in) x 7m (23ft) boxy newbuild mud pit is now unlike any other garden around – full of perennial planting, blossom trees, beautiful borders and lots of characterful touches.

Charlotte, originally from Cornwall, and former Bishop’s Stortford High School boy Ben, who live with their border terrier Rags, have created a cottage garden vibe in the heart of a suburban newbuild estate.

Passionate about encouraging wildlife to the garden, Charlotte, a senior creative at a London advertising agency, has filled it with pollinator-friendly planting, a wildlife pond and even a home-made bird table.

She said: “We’d always dreamed of buying a beautiful cottage in the countryside, but the reality of being a first-time buyer meant we ended up buying a little two-bed terraced newbuild, using the Help to Buy scheme. But that didn’t stop us creating our cottage garden of dreams.

“As newbuild owners, we have the responsibility to encourage wildlife back into our gardens, which were of course once green spaces. So we’ve worked hard to create a garden that works for us, but also the wildlife too.”

Finding the majority of their planters and accessories via Facebook Marketplace, local antiques shops and car boot sales, the garden is full of character, all on a budget.

Charlotte said: “With local landscapers charging upwards of £20,000 for the ‘Love Island look’, it’s safe to say this garden has cost a fraction of the price.”

She has been documenting her gardening journey to her 22,000-strong growing following on Instagram and TikTok under her account called @new.house.home, posting regular updates from her garden, from seed sow-alongs to DIY tutorials, garden tips to ways to transform your own space.

“I want to inspire other newbuild owners to transform their spaces and fall in love with gardening in the process,” she said. “I had no experience but now I’d much rather spend my weekends at the garden centres than shopping centres!”

Charlotte also runs #newbuildgardenshare on Instagram, where like-minded newbuild gardeners can share their spaces and others can find inspiration.

More recently, she has created her own website, charlottes-garden.com, where she plans to document her journey through a weekly blog, with step-by-steps, tips and ideas.

*You can see this story as a double-page spread in the April 24 edition of the Bishop’s Stortford Independent (£1.80 from the usual outlets).