It's very easy to know what you like and what you don't like when it comes to garden design, but implementing your ideas and adding a personal touch can be a little more difficult. A great garden still needs a personal touch to give it ownership and to add that individual factor to the space.

Adding a personal touch is not an add-on element to a garden design, in fact it's quite the opposite. The personal touch needs to be thought of in the preliminary stages of the garden design.

There are two questions you should ask yourself at the beginning of the design process and they are: what do you want from the garden and what do you want to use the garden space for?

Realising what you want from the garden and how the garden will be used will allow you to apply personal touches and make it your own. For example, if you love food and entertaining, why not add an outdoor kitchen or pizza oven to the garden? This can be done in any style of garden and will really give you ownership over the space.

If your garden is more of a hideaway from the busy lifestyle we all seem to lead, find a book or a piece of furniture you love and use that as your inspiration.

In my garden I have a dedicated relaxing area where the various seating elements are all made up of recycled timber sleepers inspired by the worn and wizened driftwood usually found on many beach walks.

The smaller touches that add a personal feel such as pots, statues and table dressings should also be considered in the design process. These stylising items make a garden yours but must also fit in with the design.

The key to getting individual items is to shop around and if you find something mainstream try to personalise it. For example, plain terracotta pots are really easy to paint and glaze yourself. Mixing different sizes and finishes with pots can give a great effect and can really reflect your own personal style.

The main thing to remember when styling and adding a personal touch to your garden is to remember: it's your garden and you have to live with it, so make it yours by only putting items and styles in it that you love.