Last summer I started work on a small garden design for a beautiful period property in the heart of the West Malling conservation area. Although the garden isn’t completely finished I thought it would be nice to share some photos from the build which took place this winter (hence the slightly gloomy pictures). Some of… Read more…
For the last few months I have been working with a couple near Sandwich in Kent who are building a large, modern, barn style house. It is part of a development on the site of an old brickworks and, as you’ll see from the photos, there is nothing there apart from the new houses, some… Read more…
Since Christmas I have been working with clients near Sevenoaks who are transforming their out dated house into a large modern eco home. It will have a new insulating skin added and be semi-clad in wood, with lots of large glass doors looking out onto the garden and even a green roof on the garage…. Read more…
I happened to be near Bruton in Somerset at the weekend so popped in to see Piet Oudolf’s garden for the Hauser & Wirth Gallery Somerset at Durslade Farm. The farm buildings have been beautifully restored and transformed into a gallery space and restaurant set within the large perennial meadow that Piet Oudolf has created…. Read more…
Quite often the gardens I work on are sloping. This can vary from a slight change in level to a steep gradient. A slope is challenging in many ways; level areas need to be created for patios and lawns, retaining walls and steps calculated and built and, more often than not, costs kept as low… Read more…
We can’t quite believe that we’re off to Hampton Court Palace to build The Wellbeing of Women Garden. The final preparations have all started to come together as we double check that we’ve not missed anything and have started to take delivery of a lot of the features for the garden. A couple of weeks… Read more…
It’s less than 5 weeks now until building starts on our show garden which feels, scarily, far too soon! A few weeks ago we had a day at Hampton Court Palace to meet the RHS Show team and the other designers and landscapers as well as have a look at our plot. The show is… Read more…
Although we had been warned that doing a Show Garden was a lot of work we have been amazed at how much we’ve had to do over the last month finalising the finer details of the garden and visiting our generous sponsors and suppliers and there is still so much more to do! Luckily there… Read more…
After months in the planning I am really excited to announce that myself and fellow Garden Designers Amy Robertson and Wendy Von Buren have designed a show garden at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show for the charity Wellbeing of Women. It’s in the Summer Garden category and at just 6×7 metres is small… Read more…
Now the Christmas decorations have been taken down and I have survived the first day back at work (it didn’t rain!!) I have been thinking about the year ahead, planning changes for my own garden as well as for clients and seeing what I can be getting on with now. Before you know it, it… Read more…
This summer I have been helping a couple in Mereworth to develop their garden. They’ve lived in the property for about 18 months and completely cut back the garden when they first moved in. After a year or so of regrowth (plants and weeds) they were having trouble keeping on top of it. We have… Read more…
A lot of gardens start to look at bit tired in August and it can be difficult to think of what to plant to perk things up a bit. If you have a sunny garden then you’re in luck as there are plenty of sun loving perennials to chose from. If your garden is on… Read more…
The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is billed as the largest flower show in the world, and with a wide range of plants at their best at the beginning of July the plants and flowers are naturally the stars. However, I have to admit that I didn’t even make it into the floral marquee… Read more…
After all the rain earlier in the year and all the recent sunshine, there have been some spectacular displays of flowers as you’ll see from these photos I’ve taken whilst out and about. But what’s good for our treasured ornamental plants is also good for weeds so it’s been a very busy June trying to… Read more…
Only a few weeks to go now until the Chelsea Flower Show….so what am I looking forward to seeing this year? The news from the RHS is that there are a lot of young designers exhibiting in the ‘Show Garden’ category for the first time. It will be interesting to see if there is much… Read more…
Back in February I mentioned a survey I was going to be doing where the clients wanted less work i.e. more lawn, less flowerbeds. As there was no hard landscaping to be done, just a couple of months on from finalising the design, the garden has been finished. The odd shaped lawn has been remodelled… Read more…
When thinking of spring flowers 99 per cent of people will picture a bright yellow daffodil and although I love their cheery presence on a dull, grey day there are other plants which come into their own at this time of year and which I am equally fond of and are well worth considering when… Read more…
Sorry to mention the rain again but I recently had to survey a small garden (soon to be courtyard) in Hove, Brighton using a combination of umbrellas and the clients shed. The slippery decking didn’t help either! The garden is very small, with a change in level close the kitchen extension which had been hidden… Read more…
Despite all the recent rain the sun was out earlier in the week and I spent a morning lifting and dividing snowdrops with one of my clients in their woodland garden in Mereworth, Kent. If you’re in Kent you can visit the garden and enjoy these snowdrops when it opens on 16th and 23rd of… Read more…