What a range of projects!

11th October 2019

Normally I show you drawings & plans of gardens I’m working on or work in progress or beautiful images of completed gardens. This time I’m showing you the before shots of these projects I currently have on my books. There’s a manor house in Warwickshire, a couple of farms with many acres, a new build Georgian style mansion, a Cotswold cottage, an uber modern glass house near Henley on Thames, our barn & a plot in Bristol where the existing house is to be torn down. Here are some … What is fascinating about my job is the variety …

Another Cotswold garden completed

16th May 2019

What an entrance! I had lunch in this beautiful Cotswold garden this week thanks to my very kind clients Norman & Zoe. It was a gloriously sunny day & the views were spectacular. Zoe is also a very talented cook so – how lucky am I? When I first went to look at the project the listed Tudor cottage was shrouded by scaffolding & plastic sheeting & the new subterranean portion of the house still underway. The levels were all over the place & my clients were doing battle with the planners. Here’s my first view of it… They wanted …

A Cotswold garden site visit today

10th April 2019

It’s a lovely life being a garden designer & today was no exception. I visited a large Cotswold garden & despite being blasted by freezing cold wind & a threatening grey sky I was delighted with what I saw. Last time I was there there was a great deal of brown as it had all been seeded. Being forty acres that’s a lot of brown! It’s still really early spring but you can see it all coming to life & the structure is as I had hoped. Below I have planted Prunus Serrula trees through gravel for structural interest whilst …

More to a garden designer than you might think!!

6th July 2018

I’m working on quite a big scheme at the moment near Marlborough in Wiltshire. My clients have some great ideas & it’s pushing me to be really creative. I talked about their fantastic Corten tree sculpture in my last blog & as they want a tree sculpture in their new scheme I’ve been looking at options. As I’ve been so taken with the one they currently have holding up their roof I’ve been playing around with that look in card as a freestanding piece that might sit in a pool. One of the things I liked were the strong bold …

Contemporary garden thoughts this sunny June

29th June 2018

I’m busy working on several schemes at the moment & am just about to start on quite a large one near Marlborough in Wiltshire. My clients love all things modern & smart & want something elegant & funky too. I’m excited as I love working with clean lines & my clients have given me free reign. They liked several of my schemes including our own small courtyard garden in Henley on Thames which we sold a few years ago. I thought I’d take a look at it again 10 years on… This is what we bought which was pretty dreadful …

A romantic & contemporary new garden

28th June 2018

This quote I believe is by Alfred Lord Tennyson & the carving was commissioned by my client for his wife – I think it is beautiful. I’m not a poetry fan if I’m honest but I think this is just perfect & such a lovely gesture – so romantic & looks fabulous engraved in this lovely wide oak boardwalk. This is quite a sizeable scheme – not without issues as there is a considerable change in level from front to back. Although a serious headache I actually love to play with levels as the results can be amazing. They can …

See how this wild flower meadow has come on

23rd July 2017

Madly busy here lately but all good. I’ve been dashing about meeting new clients & dropping in to sites to see how they are all going. Well! is the answer – all looking great & everybody is happy. This is a project built last year & this is the wild flower meadow linking the house to the walled kitchen garden. It is looking fantastic & we’re all delighted – amazing the difference from when it was seeded & looked very bare indeed! The trees within it are mature fruit trees from an old orchard. They are a mix of pear …

A front garden being created

28th June 2017

There’s a lot going on at the moment. I have several schemes being built & quite few on my drawing board too. It’s all quite exciting particularly as they are all quite different. My client took these photo’s & sent them to me yesterday. She is delighted & so are we. I am back on site on Friday & looking forward to seeing further progress. This is part of a very large scheme that has taken a while to get under way due to several things – one being awaiting the house completion! A row of mature elm trees are …

We’re in Homes & Gardens Magazine!

10th April 2017

One of my gardens that I’ve written about quite a lot here is currently featuring as a 6 page spread in the May edition of Homes & Gardens Magazine. It is not entirely unexpected as the photographer took photos last summer but it was due to be featured in the June edition so we’re all delighted but a little surprised. Here’s a sneak preview… The article focusses on the natural aspects of the garden as Jane is a huge nature lover. The wild flower meadows are by Rob Jones as he’s the expert there – I do structures & layouts. …

All change!

16th March 2017

This is the lovely purple garden around the Breeze House at my client Jane’s garden. It was one of the first things I designed for her some years ago now & it’s been one of my personal favourite areas. I’d used the purple berberis ‘nana’ successfully before instead of box edging & here I used it to link with the Acers to tie the whole thing together. Indeed it was much admired last year at the open day. The largest Acer is original & we added more to complement it & settle the Breeze House into the area. Rather like …

Chelsea Award Winning Garden Design