Photograffista

3rd June 2025

Lisa S. Elin is Photograffista & follows me on Instagram . We chat occasionally. She’s a photographer & artist based in Canada & produces the most amazing work. I follow her back & love to see what she’s up to as I have always loved photography – since studying it way back on my foundation course when I was 16. She somehow flips photos in half to produce layered mirrored images – it’s really clever! Anyway – she recently did this with one of my photos of my scheme at Pip’s Place in the Chilterns. Here’s my photo & this …

What do you think?

16th October 2024

I don’t really advertise to be honest as I get so much work via word of mouth, my instagram page & here on my website. I’m lucky in that way – thankfully! When I first started out I put ads in various magazines to garner work but all I got were calls from people trying to sell me stuff! I have therefore avoided advertising ever since. Anyway, the Cotswold planning department got in touch recently & asked me if I would add my details to their new online portal. It seemed like a good idea so I said yes. It …

Good news & bad

30th April 2024

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks. I have good news & bad. Good stuff… blossom is out! these were taken in our garden… isn’t it beautiful? We were in France for a few weeks over Easter. I have a pretty tiny studio over there but it’s lovely – with a super view of our wildflower paddock at the rear of our house & this beautiful fabric on the wall & curtain by Zardi & Zardi which I absolutely love. I got lots of work done. Here are a few of my sketches. We’d not been there at Easter before. …

House & Garden magazine made me a featured designer

31st October 2022

Just happy to say that House & Garden magazine have just selected me as one of their featured designers! So pleased as it is such a prestigious magazine & they have chosen a lovely photo of one of the courtyards I designed at Pip’s Place

I won the Houzz Best Design Award for the 7th year

26th January 2022

I have won the Best of Houzz award for 6 of the last 7 years – something I am very proud of. Today I was told I had won the best design award for the 7th time – hooray! Thank you so much to the Houzz community. Houzz showcases the work of great architects, interior designers, product designers, decorators & garden designers. All top of their field so it is a great resource for all interested in the design world or looking for a good designer. If you don’t know it – check it out!

Chelsea 2021

24th September 2021

Visiting Chelsea 2021 – I was kindly invited to visit Chelsea this year by Rob Jones of The Garden Design Co ltd with whom I have worked for many years; his company has built many of the gardens featured here on my site. We were there be inspired & to discuss our new projects for the next 18 months. Due to covid the show was a late Summer/ Autumn show which made an interesting change. It was a very early start. Rob had arranged for us to meet before 8am which meant a 4am start for me – yikes! We …

Working from France

26th July 2021

Ten years ago our dream came true & we bought a house in France. I love the relaxed French way of life; their fabulous architecture, food, style, culture & in this area – the weather! We bought a classically French stone house two miles away from the Medieval Royal City of Loches in the Loire Valley. It is a picture perfect French town with a fantastic market that takes over all the cobbled streets twice a week. We love to sit & people watch from one of our favourite cafes on a Saturday morning & buy wine from one of …

Will you vote for me in the Muddy Stilettos Awards?

14th July 2021

I was nominated for Muddy Stilettos 2021 best garden designer in Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire recently. It’s their #inlovewithlocal awards which is a very fine thing; their mission is to encourage independent businesses & for people to discover & use those businesses.I have no idea how or by who I was nominated but I was very flattered indeed! I asked my clients & instagram followers if they would kindly vote for me. Such generous & kind people they are as they voted in sufficient numbers to get me into the finals – hooray! According to Muddy Stilettos there were over 500,000 …

Revisiting the walled garden with parterre

16th June 2021

I’m madly busy as usual with so many schemes on my books at the moment. I feel very honoured to be asked to design new gardens for some fantastic projects – thanks to all of you if you are reading this. Between site visits I popped in to see one I designed a while back on a glorious sunny day. I actually designed this walled garden back in 2012 & I had a lovely time walking around chatting with my happy client Rebecca & catching up. I felt so proud! Not sure if I am supposed to say that but …

A few new garden design drawings

16th February 2021

As a designer, I am always juggling several schemes in order to meet deadlines & at the moment there’s no exception. I have a couple of very large Georgian houses in substantial grounds, a new oak framed house with several acres on a sloping site, a Gospel Hall conversion in Norfolk, a large modern house with underground parking & a lake near me in Witney, a cottage in the Cotswolds & a converted stone barn. I am never bored!! Here are a few new drawings to show you what I’ve been up to. It shows a range of projects I …

Chelsea Award Winning Garden Design