Once the domain of the time-rich, gardening has become big business as more of us realise the potential of our oft-neglected outdoor space. The ongoing high-profile tussle between Tesco and Sir Tom Hunter for Scottish garden centre chain Dobbies gives a clear signal that there is money to be made in this burgeoning retail sector. However, loading the trolley with all manner of green goodies at the garden centre is the easy part; taking them home and arranging them creatively requires a little more skill.

So, instead of looking heavenward for a flash of inspiration, why not seek out some tips from the professionals? When not working to a client's brief, how do gardeners make the best of their own plots?

Garden designer Carol Gallagher McCulloch has spent the past four years transforming gardens for her clients and this month undertook the rare feat of creating two gardens simultaneously at Gardening Scotland 2007 at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston: the Garden of the Future for Scottish Water and a Snakes and Ladders garden for Stewartsturf. While most of her clients' gardens are turned around in a matter of months, it has taken five years for Carol to transform her own. "I guess it's a case of architects' homes never being finished and cobblers' children having no shoes. For a long time, the only attention my own garden got was when I mowed the lawn," she says.

The formerly neglected garden is in Braco, Perthshire, where Carol lives with her husband, Gordon; six-year-old daughter, Holly; and Spike the dog. "It was a bit of a jungle when we moved in 10 years ago," admits Carol. "The only plants were daffodils and daisies which were supported with chicken wire. The rowan tree and the purple acer are the only things that remain now. My front garden is a showpiece. I know that sometimes potential clients drive past and it shows what's possible. The back garden is more about what we want; for example, the decking allows Holly to play with her toys and the little wooden castle is her den."

As a young child, Carol loved nothing more than helping out in the garden with her grandfather, gardener to the Queen Mother at Birkhill Castle in Fife. From him she inherited a lifelong passion for gardening and, after the birth of her daughter, she swapped her career in housing management to become a full-time garden designer. Many of the plants in the garden were given to her by her grandfather.

The family's peanut-shaped lawn is skirted with dense, colourful shrubs and the occasional ornament, including coloured baubles hanging from the branches of a tree and a half-covered disco ball protruding from the rockery.

Several bamboo plants are dotted among the shrubs, and the back of the garden has a small but busy vegetable patch which includes potatoes, lettuce, beetroot and herbss. There are also blackcurrants and redcurrants nearby and a painted summer house in which the grown-ups can enjoy drinks.

"I think the time factor is everybody's biggest problem," says Carol. "When people move house, they are often trying to do up their new home at the same time as the garden; I guess that's why they come to me." For those who are keen to get their hands dirty, however, she has some tips: "The focus at this time of year is on looking after the lawn. There is a lot of talk about water efficiency at the moment and about letting your lawn grow a bit and not to be so particular with it, but if someone likes having a manicured lawn, that's their choice. Now is also the time to cut plants that have already flowered, to encourage them to flower again this summer."

IN Carol's garden the luzula nivea grass has been particularly successful and she is a big fan of the amelanchier because of its beautiful white, star-shaped flowers in spring and rust-coloured leaves in autumn. She says: "People should consider different foliage colour as well as different flower colours. If you don't want the maintenance of flowering shrubs, pick plants with interesting foliage colour instead." For this, Carol uses Dogrose. "It has a beautiful, unusual coloured foliage and requires little maintenance. It has delicate pink flowers followed by scarlet rosehips." She adds: "The main thing is for people just to enjoy their garden and not feel that it's a chore to maintain it. It's the lifestyle aspect rather than individual plants that is important to people. In terms of designs, people still tend to opt for softer, curvy layouts and quite relaxing themes, and that reflects the way they want to use their gardens."

After years of city living, garden designer Sam Walker left Glasgow with his family, in search of the perfect garden. He found what he was looking for in the Stirlingshire village of Thornhill. Like most homes in the village, his house has a long, narrow garden to the rear that allows for various different nooks. The area immediately outside the house has been transformed into a fragrant herb garden, which is handy for the kitchen. "I love walking outside and being hit with the smell of sweet peas," he says.

In his two years in the house, Sam, who studied for a Diploma in Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, has created a lawn where once there was only gravel and weeds. However, he is still not satisfied. "My aim is to make it smooth enough to play croquet on. Nothing beats a game of croquet and a glass of Pimm's on a summer's day," he says with a laugh. He is also halfway through constructing a cobbled pathway to run the length of the lawn. The garden is also home to a hen, although Sam has plans for a full-scale chicken run across the width of the garden. "Despite the fact that I spend all day working in gardens, I love nothing more than coming home and pottering in my own.

I suppose I'm quite lucky."

having been involved in the gardening business for 10 years, Sam credits celebrity gardeners such as Diarmuid Gavin with raising the profile of the whole industry. "Television has totally changed the world of gardening, and for that I'm grateful. It has shown people more scope for things to do. Gardening now requires a lot of different skills; outdoor building, lighting and decking as well as planting."

Just as the explosion of cookery programmes saw the nation become better versed in the theory if not necessarily the practical business of cooking, the same may be true of gardening, Walker believes. "People who are moving from a flat into a new-build house suddenly find themselves with a garden for the first time and don't really know what to do with it.

"Sometimes people have ideas for a bizarrely colourful garden and while bright colours look great on the few days every year when the sun is shining, it can look a bit out of place in Scotland otherwise."

Sam is particularly passionate about using his garden to grow his own food, something which he believes is becoming increasingly important as consumers become more concerned about the origins of food. His sizeable vegetable patch includes a medley of lettuce, broad beans, potatoes and a greenhouse bursting with almost ripe tomatoes. "For me, nothing tastes as good as food you have grown and cooked yourself, and I think more people are cottoning on to that."