Two Small Gardens – two different styles and briefs…

The fun part in our role as garden designers is the vast variety of gardens we see, ranging from window boxes to very large gardens and everything in between. Coupled with this is the range of ideas and styles requested by clients. Our job is to interpret their...

Trained Fruit: a garden design tool, think design as well as taste…

Imagine wandering through your own orchard, enjoying spring blossom and the buzz of bees, the laughter of children playing amongst the trees, picking ripe fruit in the autumn.  Lovely as it sounds, most of us have much smaller gardens, but you can work them hard and...

Design Ideas – inspiration or sweat?

Design ideas come from everywhere and everything, sometimes you immerse yourself in an idea, work at it and develop it, then it sits in the back of your mind and simmers slowly. I find the ‘simmering time’ vital as  you take the idea, push and pull it...

Top Garden Trends for 2015

In the world of fashion for Spring 2015, navy is the ‘new black’, the pattern is gingham and the style of jacket is ‘kimono cool’. A couple of months ago I brought a kimono style jacket for a change and I am delighted to be ‘kimono...

A Woodland Garden – final phase – soft landscaping….

The final phase of landscaping is the installation of a paved circle for a sitting area, lawn and plant bed preparation.  Soil preparation is the key to good strong plant growth.  The plant bed area is cleared of unwanted vegetation and bricks, concrete, stones etc...

A Woodland Garden – Transformation – stage 1 – removals…

The transformation of a garden from the old layout to the new design is always an exciting time for both the garden designer and the client.  The size and scale of the landscaping works can take clients aback, especially in the early days of the project.  In the case...