Where: The village of Haslingfield, near Cambridge. Who: A family with two young sons. Why: 1. To clear a very overgrown site to add more light. 2. To provide somewhere for the family to sit and eat. 3. To add a new lawn to play football. 4. To remove uneven paving. 5. To have a … Continue reading
A garden to relax in but also easy to maintain were two of the main objectives for this garden design in Hitchin. The original lawn had seen better days and it was decided from the very start to get rid of it and create a courtyard style garden instead. The lawn was replaced with an attractive Indian sandstone which lifted … Continue reading
I knew last year had been busy for me but I hadn’t realised that 8 months had gone by since I last blogged! So, I’m going to post some of my favourite pictures of some recent gardens that I have designed in and around Hitchin. The brief for this garden was to create a space … Continue reading
Designing gardens is often about adding emphasis with your planting. These don’t have to be permanent features within the garden, infact adding seasonal interest to a particular spot often works better. Bulbs are perfect for this and one of my favourites are Black Parrot Tulips. Planted in the autumn they will reward you with a … Continue reading
Designing gardens in Hitchin, Hertfordshire means I am always experimenting with new plants. All designers love those that have strong shape and colour and fall under the ‘architectural’ heading. A couple of years ago I stumbled across some Angelica Gigas plants being sold on a market stall in St Albans. It was a new name to me … Continue reading
Designing gardens means using plants that will look good throughout the year. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons for colour. The rich yellows, oranges and reds are a welcome sight in the garden as everything else is dying back. Dogwoods make exceptional plants for winter interest because of their brightly coloured bark. Cornus alba Kesselringii is … Continue reading
Architectural plants are what give our gardens form, colour and drama. Garden designers love their strong and distictive shapes and one of my favourites is agapanthus. They are strikingly beautiful plants with intensely coloured flowers that originate from South Africa. Agapanthus have lush strappy leaves and upright strong stems that are topped with balls of flowers. Incredibly versatile … Continue reading
For a garden designer Crocosmia are vital for adding colour and structure to a border. Their funnel shaped flowers appear on arching stems that light up an area in the garden. I also love their fresh green strappy leaves. Because of their colour Crocosmia fit perfectly with hot colour borders but I think they look … Continue reading
Every garden designer has their favourite plants. Astrantias are one of my favourite perennials for this time of year. I love their wiry stems and delicate flowers. Once used in cottage garden borders they now work equally well planted with grasses in a contemporary setting. Astrantias are easy to grow and will tolerate full sun or … Continue reading
The best garden design ideas are those that use colour well. Choosing plants is like painting a room, it can affect the mood and personality of a garden. I like to use a restricted palette in my garden designs of colours that I know will work well together. One of my favourite colour combinations is … Continue reading
