Planning and planting portfolio
From neglected gardens to beautiful, thriving spaces
Bringing an 18th Century townhouse country garden back to life
The clients had recently purchased the property, with a neglected and overgrown country garden and courtyard. The brief was to bring the garden back to a manageable state and create a planting scheme which looked as naturalistic as possible and inspired by “the Queen Mother’s hat”!
The client wanted a cutting bed and to incorporate planting into the existing roses planted throughout the garden. The client didn’t want grasses or additional shrubs and was keen to see instant impact.
Together with a lush scheme of cool-coloured perennial planting, the garden kicks off in spring with a feast of bulb planting.
Romantic country garden for 18th Century grand village house
The extensive garden of this second home had not had regular detailed care for many years and was a mass of weeds, Ground Elder and overgrown shrubs. The brief was to get the garden back into a manageable state and produce a planting scheme throughout the garden which would be easy to care for by a gardener one day a week.
This is still a work in progress due to the longevity of the project.
Easycare planting for shady border of 17th Century manor house
As part of a much wider garden renovation project for the client, I was asked to create a design for a border which was in permanent shade.
The client gave me free reign, just wishing to retain the pre-existing old Rosemary. I created a year-round planting design which focused on texture and form, rather than flowers though have integrated some white architectural spikes (Acanthus mollis & white foxgloves) which will be evident in Year 2.
Screening & easy-care garden for rural village character cottage
The client wanted an easy to care for garden with a natural cottage-garden feel and screening from the road.
Working closely with the client, I chose an evergreen screening plant that the client particularly liked and produced a design that requires minimal maintenance and will retain a year-round structure, whilst using self-seeding cottage garden favourites such as aquilegia & foxgloves to add colour in spring and summertime.
Low maintenance, all season, shady courtyard garden
The clients wanted to improve up their split level, compact garden which had become time-consuming in terms of weed control and had no cohesive planting. As this was a holiday home, the keyword was low maintenance – very low maintenance – 1 or 2 hours per month!
I suggested that the seating area was moved to the upper level to make the most of the view so we decided to extend and pave that area to make it a more usuable space. Much of the planting space was in full-part shade, so the focus of the planting was on shape and form, with lots of evergreen for year-round structure and some easy care, long-flowering perennials added in the brighter spaces.
Spring bulbs and foxgloves will add seasonal colour.
Bringing a holiday cottage garden back to life
This garden had become overrun with 2 or 3 vigorous perennials which had forced out any other planting plus comfrey seedlings which had run riot for several years.
From September through to late spring, the garden was fairly bare so the key was to provide some evergreen structure and some easy care, long season successional planting in soft colours.
The garden needed to be low maintenance – a gardener for 2 hours per fortnight to keep it in check. To aim weed control and water retention, the borders were bark mulched after planting.
