Planning a garden

Informal Gardens are probably the most common garden style. An informal garden is less restrictive than, say a formal garden in its design symmetry. Informal gardening can free you from restrictions such as having any detailed horticultural or design knowledge. Thus allowing you to ‘have a go’ at gardening when you first start out, which […]

When you’re new to gardening, you tend to buy plants that simply look nice in the garden centre without considering what plant type they are. This can lead to disjointed gardens or things that look nice for a few weeks and then return to their bland previous state. By understanding the 5 different plant groups […]

Modernist garden design is a striking way to design your outdoor space to fully connect it to your home, especially if you’re completely renovating your house with a super slick modern look. This design style is very distinct and very much requires an ‘all in’ approach. Ideally, the modernist garden design will be part of […]

Mediterranean gardens are the true sun worshippers of the garden design styles. Using plants that love full sun and earthy tones these spaces can become an oasis of calm in your back garden. Even if you aren’t blessed with the south-facing garden you can still steal some of the principles of the hot Mediterranean garden […]

However, the majority of do-it-yourself Japanese garden designs fall short of an authentic Japanese garden design. Some Japanese garden designs bear little resemblance to the calming nature of their ancestors. Some are loud, disjointed and confusing. Gardeners hope the odd Buddha head or rogue bamboo will invoke the feelings of the Far East. So rather […]

I’m a big fan of recycling and upcycling in the garden. It’s so easy to buy things online but there’s something really satisfying in making your own fire pit out of reclaimed materials. This creates a one of a kind bespoke fire pit which will really set your garden alight! If you want to build […]

If you’ve started to dig around a little into the world of Garden Design or have been binge-watching Gardeners’ World, you’ll have come across the term ‘Borrowed Views’. Other terms like a focal point or eye hook are sometimes used, and it may have sparked your imagination to use these in your garden. What on […]

Everyone has their preference when it comes to colour. I’m a sucker for the reds, orange and yellows of the colour wheel. I absolutely love planting up red hot colours for garden design clients bringing that feeling of summer to a border. When I started to design the #explodingatomgarden the red hot central core was […]

It’s easy to think that increasing your hedge height, fences or trellis will bring peace and increase privacy in your garden. However, the maximum fence height is set at 2m in England. You’re only able to achieve so much with this method. I’m going to show you with a recent example of how you can […]

The Exploding Atom Garden is based on a concept of the layers of an atom firing out from a red-hot core. To symbolise these layers, I’ve decided to use Gabions to represent the shards of this Garden Explosion. Given this garden uses very soft landscaping techniques for the borders and grass pathways, I felt it […]