Happy New Year!

20th January 2015

I know I’ve been extremely quiet of late so apologies to those who follow my blogs – I can’t always find the time to write about what I’m up to aswell as getting on with what I’m paid to do! I am having the best year ever as I’m so inundated with fantastic work.Thank you so much to all my super clients old & new for trusting me with your gardens. How I love my job – I am one lucky designer. I’m juggling quite a few different schemes at present & have some lined up too. Here’s what I’m …

Buying mature trees for Autumn colour

5th November 2014

Last Monday I spent the day at Hilliers tree nursery in Ampfield, Hampshire. They are a terrific source of British field grown trees & are fairly local to me which is all great. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m working on a substantial Acer glade for my client Jane, so went with my colleague Rob Jones of The Garden Design Co Ltd as he & his team are implementing the scheme for her. We had a wish list of what we wanted & had reserved some on principle but, it’s really important when buying large expensive specimens that you are really …

Latest News

10th October 2014

Latest News I have been busy on so many projects I’ve not had time to update my behind the scenes section so here’s a brief update of what I’ve been doing… I am part way through a design for a very large (100 acre) estate in the Cotswolds. My client won’t be moving in for a couple of years & it is currently a building site but forward thinking such as this means we can design & get the landscape establishing first. There’s a lake (see above plan) for example which will have a couple of islands & maybe some …

A walled garden in Oxfordshire

15th August 2014

I’ve been really excited about this project as it’s been quite a long time in the making & the difference has been immense. It’s now virtually finished & my delighted clients let me take some photos last week. Here a before & after shots. They show my clients’ office from the house… Quite a difference! We had to lose the tree unfortunately & it wasn’t an easy decision but it was really worth it in the end. This was such a lovely project to design – a virtually blank canvas within a walled garden & beautiful buildings in the Oxfordshire …

Formal Country Garden

4th July 2014

I designed a formal country garden for my clients Anne & Andrew back in 2008 for their substantial plot in Berkshire. The grounds include paddocks for their daughters’ horses where they wanted some large heritage trees such as oak & walnut. It was quite fun too as Andrew’s hobby is flying helicopters so I had to consider a suitable landing spot. Here is the plan I drew – It is now quite mature & when I visited a couple of days ago was looking just fabulous – The lakes weren’t complete last time I visited so it was wonderful to …

A busy week & it’s only Wednesday!

25th June 2014

I’m really not great at this blogging malarky so do apologise for their infrequency but I do hope when I do get around to them, they are worth the read? This week I have been given the go ahead for three new schemes, I presented another to Jane, my very loyal & lovely client from Buckinghamshire & am off to see three more jobs this week. Can’t keep up but delighted to be so popular! Nearly forgot to say I visited “GROW” on Hampstead Heath too on Sunday. A lovely day out & good to see my friend Marnie Moyle …

A sneak preview

15th April 2014

A sneak preview SO busy I’ve been chasing my tail of late… I’ve been to see a lovely new job in Norfolk, been tree buying in Nottingham, picked up five new schemes & finished three so apologies for radio silence! I got a lovely photo of an almost complete scheme on the outskirts of Henley on Thames this week so I’ll tell you a bit about it then when it’s finally done I’ll upload some smart photo’s of this really lovely scheme. I actually designed this a couple of years ago but my clients put it to tender then …

Apologies for radio silence!

25th February 2014

Apologies for radio silence! Sorry I’ve been quiet of late. It’s not that I’ve nothing to say or show you, I’m just completely up to my eyes in work. It’s all good though & exciting too! Here’s what I’ve been up to then I must get on – I’ve a presentation tomorrow. I’m working on a commercial scheme – eight new dwellings near Henley on Thames. Part of it is a refurbished water pumping station which is nice to be involved with. It’s out in the country & part of the attraction is a large tract of countryside attached which …

A flood story

11th February 2014

A flood story Last year I designed a riverside garden for my clients Keith & Kirsty. They wanted a stylish garden to tie in with their stylish house. The existing garden was pretty boring & most impractical too. As you can see, it didn’t really fit with the smart house & the tall step into the house from the deck was dreadful. I redesigned it with practical steps, two large hardwood decks which would both be useful but also reduce the impact of the height difference. We knew there would be flood problems so we had to consider this when …

Planning for Summer

6th February 2014

Planning for Summer I am so lucky in that we have not been flooded unlike so many since Christmas. The wind & rain are utterly atrocious!! I mostly work from my studio rather than on site like all the team at the moment, who will certainly be suffering. They are felling trees, laying hedges, creating knot gardens & trying to plant. I am shuddering at the sight & sound of it against my windows & not looking forward to horizontal rain later when I’m off for a site visit. I have four gardens currently being constructed which is exciting, particularly …

Chelsea Award Winning Garden Design