I was asked recently to re-design this garden in Fairfield Park. The owners wanted a clean, contemporary space for their family to play and relax in. The garden sloped away from the house and I was asked to work with the slope rather than terrace the garden into sections. I started by moving the patio away … Continue reading
Charlton is a small village just outside Hitchin and I re-designed a back garden there last summer. Although the garden had an existing patio, it was tired and unsympathetic to the house and it’s rural setting. Also, the area at the bottom of the garden where the stream ran by was overgrown and neglected. It was here … Continue reading
Front Gardens are often overlooked and end up as somewhere to park the car or dump the wheelie bins. However, they can be as attractive as a back garden given a little imagination and plant knowledge. The brief for this front garden in Hitchin was to make it very low maintenance but enhance the house and … 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 love the ‘Woodstone Sleepers’ product that is available through Marshalls. It replicates traditional wooden railway sleepers but is made from concrete. This makes it stronger and easy to maintain. I used the dark brown colour to make a stepping stone path to access the shed in the Hitchin garden I blogged about previously. The use … 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
Clematis montanas are fast growing climbers that will quickly cover an unsightly wall or fence in the garden. One of my favourite varieties is rubens and I was lucky enough to inherit one when we moved to our house in Hitchin 12 years ago. It is now a magnificent specimen with a thick, gnarled stem and … 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
2012 has probably been our worst year for growing vegetables on our allotment in Hitchin, Herts. The extremes of temperature and rainfull were just too much for many of our crop to grow well and have left us disappointed and frustrated. However my spirits were lifted a few weeks ago when we dug our first … Continue reading
