Self heal, a lovely wildflower of grassy areas that is attractive for pollinators

Taking a walk on the wild side: Rewilding your garden

Designers Urquhart and Hunt’s collaboration with Rewilding Britain (see link  https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/support-rewilding/rhs-chelsea-flower-show) at Chelsea 2022 has reiterated the need to incorporate rewilding into garden design. Through an active collaboration between man and nature, we can help to restore nature from our own back gardens (see more about Rewilding Europe here https://rewildingeurope.com/what-is-rewilding-2/). This blog will give a glimpse into some basic steps you can take to boost conservation in your garden design. Viper's bugloss, a lovely wildflower that attracts insects and grows well in long grass areas The lawn. An integral part of many...

Read More
garden, wildlife, insects, wildflowers, gardens, design

Sustainable garden designs – 5 ideas

Whist this subject has waxed and waned in popularity over the last couple of decades, I like to think that we are all now strongly concerned to ensure that our gardens are as eco-friendly as possible and/or, at least, incorporate some aspects of sustainable or green approaches to design.  Since the construction of a garden can have as much impact on the environment as house- construction, it is important to consider these aspects throughout the process.  Sometimes, being eco-friendly can present money savings, too, something that should be of interest...

Read More

New perennial movement: wash out or taking root?

[caption id="attachment_3838" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Grasses and perennials as used in my Bloom show garden for Barretstown[/caption] With the Garden and Landscape Design Association's (GLDA) seminar on the horizon this weekend, the focus is very much on the so-called "new perennial movement" or "prairie planting" style of planting design that has captured the imagination of garden designers for the last twenty years of so.  This is probably one of the biggest fashion shake-ups to have gripped the garden design world (both amateur and professional) for quite some time. Even minimalist and avant-garde designers who typically...

Read More

Exposing Layers and Meaning in 21st Century Garden Design – GLDA Seminar FEB’ 2014

For a day of garden design inspiration and shared passion for all things gardening, I can recommend attending the forthcoming GLDA Seminar that will be held on February 8th 2014 at The Crowne Plaza Conference Centre Northwood. The Garden and Landscape Designers Association have put together an unmissable line-up of speakers who share not only a breath-taking knowledge of their subject, but also a passion for what they do. Attention to detail is a theme that runs through the day’s line-up. Landscape Architect, Feargus McGarvey’s title is ‘Observation’ where he reflects on spatial relationships and site...

Read More

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) - pic. taken at Gardenworld[/caption] I was looking for an autumn flowering perennial with impact, suited to a heavy (wet, slightly acidic) soil.  This seems to be the ideal tall flowering perennial.  The flowers are pinky-purple in colour, slightly unusual (not...

Read More

Garden hedges using native, wildlife-friendly plants

The weather is a bit windy, wet and wintry here at the moment and maybe the very last thing you are thinking about is the state of your garden.  But if you had been considering a revamp of the garden perimeter with a bit of new planting during the course of last year then you need to know that now is the perfect time of year for planting a new hedge. It’s time to take action because we are currently in the dormant season for deciduous trees and shrubs and this...

Read More

Coppicing trees in the garden and coppice woodlands

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Mature coppice in Herefordshire[/caption] Whilst I was working with the BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) a number of years ago (quite a number actually!), I completed a super training course in woodland crafts at the Greenwood Trust in Ironbridge, Shropshire.  Since then, I am in the habit of advocating coppicing not only as a useful and productive way of managing woodlands (of all sizes) but also as a method for controlling the size of trees  in small gardens, especially where space is at a premium but the...

Read More

Big Pigging! or how to get maximum benefit from your kitchen waste

I have been composting with my "pig" for a number of years now and whilst it is somewhat more expensive, at initial outlay, than other traditional composters, I do find it is far more effective. Thus your initial investment is recouped over the medium to long term. My pig is a sealed unit, which means that literally all your kitchen waste including raw meat can be added to it without encouraging vermin, so, you save on waste charges and it produces large volumes of compost rapidly (I find in an average...

Read More

Design inspiration, on an Olympic scale!

Garden designers are always looking for design inspiration for their next project.  Most design ideas are stimulated by something a designer will have seen or experienced whether directly related to garden design or not. Another thing that garden designers ought to be doing is keeping on top of developments in the overall profession of garden design.  This can be done by reading garden design books and journals or spending time browsing relevant websites.  Otherwise, visiting constructed garden projects, whether public spaces, private gardens or indeed showgardens, is always a great way of...

Read More

Crazy about currants, using fruit and vegetables in the garden.

[caption id="attachment_2182" align="aligncenter" width="553"] Red currants - an easy to grow garden fruit[/caption] I have just harvested my annual crop of red currants from my garden's solitary red currant bush.  This tough, easy-to-grow,  garden shrub does so well each year and satiates my need for breakfast berries - the rest of my family are not big fans so one bush provides us with all we (or I) need for my bowl of muesli in the morning (for  a week or two each summer). I am also excited by the productive side of...

Read More