Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ are looking fabulous at the moment, especially these beauties that we planted up 2 years ago in Cobham. The fairly deep border gives the hydrangeas enough space to flourish and the beautiful old brick wall gives a wonderful backdrop. Hakonechloa macra grasses and Liriope muscari border the edge. They have been cut back …
BBC TV’s DIY SOS this week showed Chris Beardshaw’s 2016 Chelsea garden being moved to the Gt Ormond St hospital roof. Amazing feat and a very special garden. I particularly love the gorgeous cut out oak leaf panels for the oak pavilion, and the uplifting piece of sculpture amongst lush planting. The garden has created …
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These boxing hares are a great addition to this country garden. My client chose them herself for the centre of a large herbaceous border benefitting from a focal point. All sorts of animal willow sculptures like these are available now, pigs….horses, elephants! Sculptures or ornaments in the garden can hold special memories or meaning which …
Whenever I plant up a garden it is always rewarding to salvage plants from existing borders if I can. As long as they are not plants my client loathes, they are healthy, they fit in with the scheme, and they are not too big to be moved or split up. Today we decided to salvage …
One of the most important aspects of a garden is it’s use as a seating/ dining/lounging area. The term ‘Outdoor Room’ is a bit of a cliche, but in good weather the garden really does become the alternative lounge and dining room (and kitchen..!) It’s a great advantage to consider the size, colour and style …
I love this beautiful contemporary garden, designed by Paul Martin and built by Kent based RDC Landscapes www.rdclandscapes.co.uk. It won a gold medal earlier this year at Chelsea. The block theme works so well. It is repeated throughout the garden with the garden building, steps, walls, path and water feature. Using the one type of …
Chelsea Flower show gardens of recent years are a rich seam of inspiration. Luciano Giubbilei is an astonishingly stylish Italian designer and this was part of his Laurent Perrier garden in 2011. Here the pale grey, twisted stems of Parrotia persica multi-stemmed trees stand out against the hornbeam hedge. They do so in a more …
I love the work of garden designer Dan Pearson. His advice when creating a planting plan is to choose plants appropriate to the spirit of the place, plants that are right for the soil and situation, and plants that sit well together. Make a list of your favourites – then halve it. Less is more. …
This is a Chelsea Flower show garden by Cleve West, back in 2008. The curving paths are made with Vande Moortel pavers www.vandemoortel.co.uk They are small narrow pavers, like vintage bricks, and they lend themselves to both traditional and contemporary gardens. The planting here is very pretty. However I notice the centrepiece in this border …
Today I visited a garden I designed last year. The driveway entrance required widening, and an extra space for a car /turning circle was needed. It was nice to see that it has turned out well, and the clients were happy with the result.