My Blog

Welcome to Tim Austen’s garden design blog

A garden anywhere

After spotting this planted roof to a bus shelter on Zaragoza's Paseo Independencia, it made me realise (again) that it truly is possible to grow a garden anywhere.  All it takes is a little imagination, some basic horticultural innovation and possibly (as with most gardening scenarios) some perseverance. What's good about...

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Garden boundaries and fences

In any garden design, close attention needs to be paid to the boundaries and how they are to be finished at an early stage in the project. [caption id="attachment_3437" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Traditional field stone boundary in the west of Ireland[/caption] The reasons for this are obvious but sometimes need to be restated: 1)...

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‘To boldly go’ – being brave with garden design

[caption id="attachment_3429" align="aligncenter" width="259"] Powerscourt Church, Enniskerry Photo from Parish of Powerscourt website[/caption] Enniskerry Garden Club talk Really looking forward to a return visit to see my friends at the Enniskerry Gardening Club tomorrow evening when I shall be delivering a talk. I will be explaining how to revamp an existing garden with...

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Emeralds and the gathering

Gardening trends Gardening, like other design-related professions has its trends.  Sometimes these are created by the horticultural industry itself through clever marketing campaigns.  At other times these fashions reflect wider shifts in the way society is thinking, an example being the recent move towards gardens with a grow-it-yourself element, something of...

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Foraging for food – the good, the bad and the ugly, part 1

Whilst undertaking a road survey recently, I came across a super example of "food-for-free" in the Irish countryside when this apple tree presented its fruits to me. [caption id="attachment_3354" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Wild Irish apple tree![/caption] This native Irish apple tree is growing right alongside the N6 motorway in Westmeath and is a...

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Great autumn perennial plants – Joe Pye Weed

I was delighted to catch Carol Klein extolling the delights of the Eupatorium plant on BBC's Gardeners' World this week having just selected the fantastic variety Eupatorium purpureum subsp. maculatum 'Atropurpureum' or Purple Joe Pye weed for a client of mine. [caption id="attachment_3341" align="aligncenter" width="585"] Eupatorium purpureum (Purple Joe Pye Weed)...

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Musings on using water in the contemporary garden

Splish, splash, splosh: the tradition of using water in the garden goes back thousands of years. I have waxed hydrologically about the importance of water in garden design before and it is something that continues to excite and inspire me - from the Persian paradise gardens of the middle east...

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Using plants to divide up and create an interesting garden space

Just mulling over something I come across repeatedly on garden consultation visits which is that many gardeners are under confident when it comes to extending planting from the boundaries of the garden inwards. [caption id="attachment_3268" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Typical dreary garden scene in Ireland - basically lawn and devoid of plants[/caption] I am...

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Garden canopy

This super Irish summer (with temperatures having been well in to the mid-20s (0C) with clear blue skies for quite some weeks now - SWEET!) has put me in mind of our Bloom 2009 garden, best in show garden - The Garden Lounge. [caption id="attachment_3170" align="aligncenter" width="614"] The Garden Lounge, Bloom 2009...

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Garden party at Gardenworld, Kilquade this weekend!

[caption id="attachment_3156" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Garden party at Gardenworld, Kilquade[/caption] Delighted to be involved in the charity garden party to be held this weekend at Gardenworld, Kilquade for what promises to be a fun day out for all the family. We are sponsoring my garden "The Riverside Retreat" for the day and Camelia...

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