Buying trees in winter

16th December 2013

I love to plant trees – they instantly add drama & height to an environment & are in fact incredibly good value. A simple cherry tree for example can cost less than a medium size shrub! This time of year, we plant bare root & rootballed specimens which are only available whilst the trees are dormant & the ground is not too hard. It’s a great process; my design will propose certain trees of a certain size – silver birch for example so we, the client, me & my contractor – usually Rob of The Garden Design Co Ltd will …

Our Garden

13th December 2013

The main garden is approximately an acre & was pretty grotty when we bought the place. Our main outlook is from the kitchen & the outlook is really important to me – year round, so it needed to be sorted. The previous owner had a good idea of making it formal but the scale was all wrong as was the planting they used and the garden was filled with so much rubbish. What a mess! We set about removing old sheds, a greenhouse under a tree, masses of weeds, sandpit, a pond/swamp & lots of dead plants! The terrace at …

Creating our Knot garden

12th December 2013

The story of our Knot garden starts in June 2010. We had a really grotty small courtyard beside the house full of ground elder. I’ve done loads of knot gardens for my clients but have never had one myself… Here was my chance! I absolutely love knot gardens & the possibilities are endless. They suit all styles too – contemporary & classical. Knot gardens were first created in Medieval times & they were known as Embroidery for the earth – how fab is that? My initial sketch – it’s very simple as the area is small & I didn’t want …

Bringing the garden in for Christmas

11th December 2013

I love to decorate the place at Christmas although I’m not massively traditional & tend to go more minimal than maximum! We dragged in an old branch to form a quirky christmas ‘tree’ in the hall which I’ve decorated with little birds made of tweed & linen. Little pears add the colour – lime green – my favourite which I’ve echoed elsewhere in the house too. As it’s quite a tall hall I’ve used quite a big branch to reach the ceiling. My husband thinks I’m mad but seems to think that’s what living with a designer is all about! …

My love for drawing

10th December 2013

As I was trained at Art College initially, drawing is my passion & I find it so much more satisfying to sketch out all my ideas on my board than on a CAD system (I do have that too however). I create doodles & work on an A2 sketch pad & tracing paper over the top of a printed site survey to get a proper sense of space, scale & what’s actually possible. Proper proportion is essential in every scheme – be it tiny or several acres & that’s what really counts. If it works on paper it will look …

How I got where I am!

9th December 2013

Becoming a garden designer This is about what happens in my own garden, studio & life beyond smart photos of my clients completed gardens. Lots of designers do that but here’s a behind the scenes look at everything else that goes into being a garden designer. How I got here, why I love what I do & how I’m doing with my own garden & interior projects. I love all aspects of design & lots of things inspire me & my work – often nothing to do with gardens & gardening! My own garden is quite a project that has …