A Life Designing

Garden Design Ideas - Covering an Unsightly Wall

2012-01-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

A quick and elegant way to cover up an unsightly wall is by creating a wooden screen. You can do this with trellis, but I really like to use horizontal slats fixed to wooden uprights giving a sort of Venetian blind effect.

Secure some 25mm x 50mm treated softwood uprights to the wall at intervals of no more than a metre apart along the wall. These uprights should start at the base of the wall and finish at the top. Create the vertical slats of the screen using lengths of wood 10mm x 25mm and fix these horizontally across the supports with a small vertical gap in between each slat. You can use slightly wider pieces of wood if you prefer.

If the wall does not belong to you, for example, if it’s the back of a neighbours garage you’ll need to ask their permission before you fix anything to it. If they are not happy for you to do so, set some wooden uprights 100mm x 100mm as close to the wall as possible and use these as supports for the cross pieces.

Use the void behind the slats to disguise the pipes for a water spout that spills into a simple reservoir sunk into the lawn, border or paving in front of the screen. Or, create a fake window by incorporating some mirror. If you’re using mirror make sure it’s secured in a wooden frame and sealed in with waterproof mastic.

Here’s a shot of a garden I designed where we used this type of screening to enclose a built in seating area and to cover an ugly piece of a neighbours fence. A mirror has been used with a slatted surround to reflect the statue that forms the focal point at the end of the pergola.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

Garden Design Tips 3 - Triangulation

2012-01-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Before you can start designing a garden you’ll need to know its exact size and shape. You cannot create a plan of the new garden until you have an accurate plan of the existing garden. If you have a small garden to design it is especially important that your measurements are extremely accurate.

One of the problems you’ll find when measuring your garden is it almost certainly not a perfect square or rectangle. One of the simplest techniques for measuring a plot that is full of odd shapes and angles is triangulation. Here’s how to do it.

Use the house as a fixed point from which to take measurements. Choose two points that are not too close together, for example, the two end corners. Take a measurement from each of the two fixed points to the point you are trying to plot.

In order to plot the measurements onto paper you’ll need a pair of compasses. On a scale ruler select the the same one as you used to draw in the house and open the compasses to the length of the distance from the first point. Put the point of the pair of compasses on the first point of the house and draw an arc. Repeat the previous step for the distance from the second point. Where the two arcs cross is the position of whatever you are trying to measure, in the case of the example below it is the position of the two corners of the rear garden.

You can use this technique to find the position of anything in the garden. In order to measure accurately use the same two fixed points for each measurement.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

BBC Radio Berkshire Interview

2012-01-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's interested in hearing what I sound like can tune into BBC Radio Berkshire (95.4 FM) next Tuesday 17th January 2012. I'm being interviewed live between 3pm and 4pm.

Garden Design Tips 2 - Paint it Black

2012-01-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has read my blog before will almost certainly be aware of my fondness for painting wooden structures in the garden black. Clients get a bit nervous when I tell them I want to paint fences black. They are afraid a black boundary will make the garden seem smaller in the same way that painting internal walls a dark colour makes a room feel boxy. It doesn’t work the same way outside.

Black is a wonderful colour for garden structures. It is the colour of shadow and diminishes the impact of potentially unattractive structures such as fences and sheds. Once the planting has started growing in around them black-painted structures simply blend into the background. Black also makes a fantastic backdrop for plants. The gold leaves of Choisya ternata 'Sundance', the bright red new foliage of Photinia ‘Red Robin’, a swathe of burnt orange Hemerocallis, drifts of pale pink Phlox are all more dramatic set against a black fence. A coat of black paint on a tired fence or an old shed can really transform a garden with very little outlay.

A black summer house blends into
the shadows of the trees and hedge.

I’ve heard the argument that green is the best colour for painting garden structures because it is a natural colour. Firstly, there is nothing remotely natural about the horrid green dyes that manufacturers use to colour wood preservatives. Secondly, why would you want to place plants against a flat, green canvas? It just looks bland as the outline forms of the plants are lost. Don’t even get me started on that rancid bright orange colour that is so widely used for fences. Just one word – why?!!

This black fence in a small garden
helps the boundary to disappear
making the garden seem larger and
displaying the standard Photinia
'Red Robin' to great effect.

Cuprinol Timbercare comes in black, but you’ll need to go to a Dulux Centre or buy it on-line as I’ve never found black in any of the DIY stores near me. However, I’d recommend the more expensive Cuprinol Garden Shades which gives a slightly glossy finish and lasts years. Look on-line for bargains, eBay is always a good start.

Black fences and a black pergola in
this contemporary garden scheme
give a crisp finish and blend the
garden into the wider landscape.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

Garden design tip - Use Bold Structures in Small Garden Design

2012-01-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

When designing a small garden it’s tempting to scale down the garden features so as not to clutter the space. The result can often be a muddle of insignificant elements that do the exact opposite. A good tip when designing a small garden is to keep things simple. Use clean lines and geometric shapes. Don’t overcomplicate the design and use a single, bold structure to hold focus inside the garden.

A chunky pergola or a rendered blockwork wall around a seating area will create a sense of enclosure, introduce a touch of drama and ensure that your eye stays inside the garden rather than straying to an unattractive view outside the garden.

A pergola for screening the terrace in a small, sloping, Gerrards Cross garden

For a substantial, impactful pergola use 150mm square timbers. Your local timber yard will cut the timber to the exact length needed and can often be persuaded to cut out notches in the posts for easier assembly. You may need to get some muscle to lift the timber and will definitely need the help of a carpenter.

A pergola over a dining area in a small garden in Berkshire.

For a dramatic screening wall use concrete blocks up to a height of 1.8m which is the maximum allowable in a garden without planning permission. Render the wall and paint it a cheerful, bright colour to add an instant contemporary feel to the garden.

A blockwork wall enclosing a dining area in a Windsor garden.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my other completed projects and get a bit more information.

Windsor Garden Design with a Mediterranean courtyard

2011-09-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

This small, shallow Windsor garden needed a complete re-design. The garden is overlooked on both sides, but not from the back. The brief was to create a contemporary garden with a Mediterranean flavour that would be easy to look after. The client requested a large terrace by the house for sunbathing and eating, and a second more intimate seating area separated from the rest of the garden.

There was an enormous Leyland Cypress hedge, plus some over grown Laurels and other evergreen shrubs that combined to give a thick screen along the back boundary. The client liked the feeling of privacy and safety these gave.

Initially, it was intended to keep the Cupressus hedge, but it soon became apparent that if we removed the shrubs the hedging would then have ugly dead patches. In the end it was the client’s decision to remove all existing trees and shrubs and start again. I was relieved as not only do I think the old trees and shrubs were past their best, it’s always nice to be given a blank canvas.

Here’s the scheme I designed:-

Week one – clearing. The saying goes ‘you need to break a few eggs to make an omlette’ and this was Greg Tranckle Landscapes version of egg breaking! Everything was removed from the garden.

Week two and the the old garden is gone, a new fence is installed and the excavations start for the new garden. A footpath runs along the back of the property and the client wanted the fence to be the maximum height to discourage casual intruders.

Week four and the courtyard is taking shape. The blockwork walls are up to their full height and Greg and the lads have constructed the arched windows that give the courtyard a more Mediterranean feeling.

Week five and the courtyard is really starting to look finished. The circular steps are constructed and the render is on the walls. The water feature blade on the front outside wall of the courtyard is in place and the reservoir is constructed.

I think I’ve lost the battle to paint the courtyard walls pink – the debate about colour is ongoing. I really want the walls to be a strong, statement colour, but the client is understandably nervous.

Keep following – I’ll post more progress shots in a few days.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my other completed projects and get a bit more information.

Garden Design Ideas - Small Shallow Garden - Update 5

2011-07-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

This small, shallow garden in Warfield (Berkshire) is so nearly finished, just not quite!

Everything is constructed. The walled alcoves have had their Slate cladding applied. The walls have been painted a fetching purple - love it! The fences, trellises and pergola have been painted black. The paving is laid. The lawn is laid.

Now the garden is infested with electricians. Their stuff is everywhere, so I can't get good photos, grrrrrrrr!! Just kidding. The fabulous Dilwyn Jones and his lovely assistant Noel, are doing a sterling job. The decorative and task lighting are being fitted. The water feature will go in and be connected last.

The garden is a positive hive of activity still with Gareth taking care that the paint job looks perfect and Matt still painting trellis (sorry, I know it's a fiddly, boring job).

The barbeque alcove has worked really well and will function as a small outdoor kitchen.

Next comes the planting - watch this space .......

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my other completed projects and get a bit more information.

In Which I Enter the Naphill Horticultural Society Summer Show 2011

2011-07-16T04:12:00.000-07:00

I was brought up in a village called Naphill in Buckinghamshire. My Mum still lives there and I visit her all the time. I try to arrange my visits so that I’m there when the the local Horticultural Society shows are on. I remember these so well from my childhood. I loved the earthy smell of the flowers and vegetables, the tables packed with home made cakes and jam, the tiny gardens on plates, and the hum of companionable conversation. It was a comforting, sociable experience.

Last year when my Mum and I walked around the show I was saddened by how few entries there were in many of the classes. You would think with all the interest in growing your own food that the number of entries in these shows would be increasing. But I guess busy lives mean people feel they don’t have the time to prepare their entries.

My family always enters something – Mum usually wins with her fabulous Victoria sponge and something hand made, and my aunt Thelma is always victorious in all the floral design classes. So, this year I decided to stop moaning and do something myself.

I went into the whole thing with the sole intention of swelling the numbers, supporting the organizers and spending a day doing something with my Mum that we’d both enjoy. However, I never do anything by halves and put a lot of time and effort into making my entries look as good as I could. I got up 6am on a Saturday for goodness sake, now that’s dedication!

I had a great time and won loads of prizes. It was totally satisfying. I felt I had done my bit to support the Naphill Horiticultural Society and I spent a relaxing afternoon talking to some of my ex-neighbours who I had not spoken to for years. I loved it and can thoroughly recommend it. Here is the photographic evidence of my successes:-

A vase of annuals - First prize

A vase of perennials - First prize

Beetroot - second prize - I'm nurturing some better specimens for the autumn show...

Rhubarb - first prize

Potatoes - a surprising first prize, I almost didn't put them in!

Collection of Herbs - A disappointing third prize - I'll do better next time...

Redcurrants - an annoying nothing as I misread the entry form and put one too few bunches in!

Last, but by no means least, my triumphant cheese and onion tart which at first was deemed by the judge as looking suspiciously perfect (luckily Janet who was walking round with judge assured her it was home made). First prize and best overall entry in the domestic category. Woo Hoo!

I also entered some fruit scones which got a third prize - they tasted great, but had collapsed so I didn't hold out much hope.

So come on people! Please support your local horticultural society, even if you just enter a few annuals or perennials from your garden it helps fill up the classes. You will meet people you never usually socialise with and maybe make a few new friends. It's a pleasant, relaxing way to spend a day and who doesn't occasionally long for simpler times in this age of high speed, high tech, result driven, stress filled days?

If anyone wants a copy of my super, award-winning cheese and onion tart please email me linsey@linseysgardens.com and I'll be delighted to send you a copy.

If you need help with designining your garden please visit my Web site and get in touch.

Garden Design Ideas - Small Shallow Garden - Update 4

2011-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

In the Warfield (Bracknell) garden the cladding is on, the pergola is built, the edgings are almost in, the paving is almost finished. You'd think that was most of the difficult bits out of the way. Think again. I'm at a crossroads design-wise, its touch and go, make or break. Not really, I'm just trying to decide what colour to paint the walls.

Here are the colours currently under consideration.

Violet

Aqua blue

Sky Blue (Boo says she likes this one)

Dusty Lilac

At the moment we are veering towards the lilac as there is to be a Lavender hedge opposite the painted wall. But if you've got the time, or the inclination, let me know what you think. Only polite suggestions/comments please!

Check out my Web site
and get in touch if you need help with designing your garden.

Garden Design Ideas - Small Shallow Garden - Update 3

2011-06-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

The build for this small, shallow garden in Warfield (Bracknell), Berkshire is nearly at an end. The main structure of the garden is in place. All the retaining walls are built, the pergola is finished and the paving is going down.

The garden has been divided into distinct areas without using solid physical barriers. One of the ways this has been achieved is by creating two spaces that are enclosed by curved sections of low wall which have been finished with slate cladding which looks stunning. This gives them their own character, a sense of enclosure and the feeling that they are for different purposes. In short, open plan rooms.

One of these curved rooms is a seating area with a chunky pergola. I'm sure I've said it before and I will almost certainly say it again, but when you're designing a small garden which is overlooked you need to focus attention inside the garden. One sure way of achieving this is by building bold, architectural structures. In this garden the pergola serves this purpose and I'm delighted with how it's turned out. Greg from Tranckle Landscapes is a master of pergola construction and has done a brilliant job considering he's had to work with straight sections of wood round a curved wall...

The other curved wall encloses a piece of lawn into which will be set a stainless steel water feature. It is the sort of area where you can sit on a rug with a picnic and a book without the feeling that all the neighbours are peeking at you. The curved walls also help focus the eye inside the garden.

Even though space is fairly limited, there are two other sitting/dining areas. One of them I've designated the breakfast terrace, it catches the morning sun and is a short walk from the back door - an ideal place to take your morning coffee. The other is just outside the conservatory doors. It will house a couple of loungers from which the person lounging can watch the cook prepare food on the barbeque. Speaking of the barbeque, it has it's own designated enclosure with two peripheral cupboards and slate worktops. A mini outdoor kitchen.

I'm almost through choosing the paint colour. I want a bold colour to contrast with the charcoal slate cladding and bring some vibrancy into the garden. It's all too easy to fall back on white, but I love colour and a carefully chosen bright colour helps define the character of the garden without costing a fortune. I always say that if the clients hate the colour I'll go back and repaint it myself - one day someone will take me up on this!

The planting and lighting have been designed and we're just waiting for Greg to finish so we can get on with these important finishing touches. I'm always disappointed when we get to the end of a project and don't have any budget left for the lighting. After all we spend so much of our time in this country inside looking out at our gardens it's a shame not to be able to see them.

The decorative lighting has been designed to brush over plants, skim up trees, graze down pergola posts and wash up over the surface of the walls and fences. Although these lights will also provide an amount of ambient light, there are some strategically placed lights that can be switched on to give higher light levels when needed.

I've ordered some fab planters from Livingreen Design and these will be stuffed with seasonal colour - bulbs for the spring, Agapanthus and Hemerocallis for the summer, as well as housing some climbers for the walls of the house and fences. I'll say more about the planting scheme once we get cracking with the planting.

If you need help with designing your garden please get in touch via my Web site, or email me at linsey@linseysgardens.com.

How to design a garden

2011-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Garden design is not about being able to create a beautifully illustrated plan, although this is one of the many outputs of the garden design process. A garden designer’s role is to find creative, practical solutions to the many technical challenges presented by an outdoor space. A good garden designer can make a garden that is useable and suitable for a specific set of requirements as well as being beautiful and a pleasure to spend time in.

It would not be possible to tell you how to design a garden in a single article. I simply haven't got the space to explain about the correct ratio of mass to void, or how to create rhythm in a garden design, but I will outline what I consider to be the major steps in the garden design process.

1. Decide how you want to use the garden

Before you start thinking about how the garden will look, you need to decide how you want to use the garden. Ask yourself the following questions: how much time you’ve got to look after the garden, have you got any pets or children, do you have elderly visitors or relatives, do you have mobility problems, do you like gardening, do you enjoy spending time outside, do you like to eat and entertain outside, have you got loads of friends and family? The aim is to arrive at a list of requirements which forms the basis of the design process.

2. Do some research

If you are new to gardens, get inspired and find out what you like before you start thinking about your specific garden design. Visit some gardens, look in gardening books and magazines, go to some RHS shows like Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Flower Show and look at the show gardens.

Experienced garden designers know the value of regularly looking at all forms of art and architecture in order to keep ‘visual vocabulary’ up to date and get inspiration for their designs.

2. Take the site survey

Take a thorough site survey and analysis. Measure the house including the position and height of all doors and windows. The survey should show steps, drains, manhole covers, chimney breasts, and anything else that will affect the final garden design.

Use triangulation and offsetting to plot in the boundaries of the garden, and the location of all plants, garden features and buildings. Make a note of things outside the garden like overhanging trees – they will affect the eventual design of the garden. Survey any level changes in the garden and mark these clearly on the survey.

Taking a soil sample for analysis – it’s important when planting to know what type of soil you have. Note down boggy places and other potentially troublesome parts of the garden. Look beyond the garden boundaries and see if there are any views or features that you can use as part of the new design – this is called ‘borrowing’ the view.

Draw up the site survey to scale, in ink on a piece of tracing paper large enough to allow you to set out the new design and put in labels.

3. Create the new design

Using your requirements and site survey create the new design using a series of interconnected geometric shapes. The final design should create a pleasing picture on paper and each element that comprises the design should be the correct size for its intended purpose. For example, if you want to seat 6 people on your terrace make sure it’s large enough to hold a table of the correct size with room to pull out chairs so that people can sit down and stand up comfortably.

Make sure your design addresses any sloping parts of the garden. If you want flat spaces and your site is sloping you will need to put in retaining walls – make sure these are clearly shown on the plan.

Draw up the design to scale in ink on a piece of tracing paper. Label everything clearly including wall heights, paved areas, lawn, edgings, pergolas, planted areas, walls with their heights, water features.

4. Choose construction materials

Select materials for constructing each area and make sure these are labeled on the plan. There are many different construction materials available and these will vary greatly in price and quality, for example, paving slabs come in all different types of stone and man made materials. Do some research around local DIY stores, garden centres, and building suppliers to find materials that suit your purpose, look great and fit your budget.

5. Create the planting plan

For each planted area in the garden draw up a planting plan with a mixture of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs that will give a year-round display of colour and scent. The plants give the garden structure and that important quality of seasonal change.

6. Create the construction plan

This a technical drawing that shows your contractors how to construct specific features in the garden such as steps and retaining walls. It can also contain details of required paving patterns and sections showing how paving is to be laid.

7. Create the setting out plan

This plan makes landscape contractors lives easy by giving measurements that show the dimensions and location of all features in the garden. For example, if you have a circular seating area somewhere in your garden design scheme you can show its diameter and the location of the centre of the circle from some fixed point (usually the house). This removes any potential measuring errors.

If you need help with designing your garden please get in touch via my Web site, or email me at linsey@linseysgardens.com.

Steeply Sloping Garden Design in Gerrards Cross - Finished!

2011-06-03T01:47:00.000-07:00

This steeply sloped garden in Gerrards Cross is finally complete and I'm really proud of it.

The fab contractors, Manor Landscapes, battled with appalling winter weather and horrible access issues and they've done an amazing job. So, thanks very much to Chris, Paul, Geoff, Tom and others who's names I've forgotten.

The plants are in and all but one tiny section of the wall is painted - see if you can spot it! I won the battle to get the walls painted pink and everyone loves it including Geoff (ha!).

The lower terrace is enclosed on three sides by rendered blockwork walls which also form the retaining walls for the first level of raised planting. There is a herb garden who's retaining wall functions as an informal seat adjacent to the chunky pergola which screens the BBQ area. This terrace is split into two levels simply for practical purposes - there were some manhole covers the height of which could not be changed and their height dictated a different finished height of paving in the two areas.

This terrace is large enough to two sizeable rattan sofas and a large dining table. It has a contemporary, formal feel, it is sheltered and has a really nice sense of enclosure and privacy. A large patio area was one of the main requirements and the clients are delighted with their new outdoor room.

Another key requirement was a large, flat lawn on the upper terrace. This is the area where the evening sun sets and the clients wanted a place where their grandchildren could play and they could sit and enjoy the last of the sunshine.

The new lawn was created on the top terrace and is enclosed by a Hornbeam hedge, some scented climbers and a fan trained Garrya Elliptica. It is retained using railway sleepers which were used throughout the garden to keep the build costs down and minimise the impact of the large number of retaining walls required to create the garden. Planting and hard landscaping were deliberately kept to a minimum on the lawn terrace as the client specifically asked for a large, uninterrupted lawn area.

The pergola used to screen the BBQ area is deliberately chunky. It is never possible to completely block the view from an overlooking property - you would need to build a wall or fence as high as the house. The way it is done is by using bold structures and strong geometric shapes to stop the eye and focus attention inside the garden, giving the feeling of more seclusion.

The pergola was made from 150mm square timber uprights, with a 150mm square timber top frame. The top frame was notched to take the cross pieces and fixed to the top of the uprights with wooden pegs. The 150mm x 25mm cross pieces were also notched and then slotted into the top frame so that they fit flush into the structure. The whole pergola was painted black. It is softened by some planters with box balls and climbers that will grow up and partially cover the pergola. It is not intended that the plants will completely smother the pergola, I particularly want it's form to remain visible.

Steps lead from the patio terrace to the first raised level. Thereafter, I have used a winding ramp that leads up through planted borders to the top lawn level. The sides of the pathway are retained with railway sleepers and it is paved with one of my favourite garden construction materials - self-binding gravel.

Self-binding gravel is laid on top of a sub-base like paving, but it is simply whacked down and forms a semi-hard surface. You get some aggregate movement on the top of the path, giving that satisfying gravelly crunch. It is a natural looking material that provides a lovely contrasting texture to the hard paving and grass. It can be swept more easily than gravel and doen't spread around as much as loose aggregate.

Here are the other posts about this project which show the progress of the build from the start Introduction, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3

If you need help designing your garden please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Garden Design Ideas - Small Shallow Garden - Update 2

2011-06-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

The build for this small, shallow garden in Bracknell, Berkshire is well underway and can really get a sense of how the garden will feel when it's complete. Already, there is a greater sense of enclosure and you can see how different parts of the garden will be used. This design shows that it is possible to create an uncluttered, small garden with distinct areas which each have a different atmosphere and function.

The retaining walls for the raised borders are all in place and waiting for a coat of render, or cladding. I'm just mulling over what colour to paint the walls. It will definitely be a colour, I'm just not decided on which one yet. I shall go and retrieve my paint charts and colour swatches and examine them over a cup of tea later.

The paving has arrived and is being laid. I have chosen this silver blue which I use a lot as it goes well with almost any brick colour and helps to create a clean, crisp finish.

The walls of the barbeque enclosure are also nearly finished. This is just an alcove for the barbeque to slide into with peripheral cupboards. It's a very neat solution (if I say so myself) to storing the barbeque which often ends up standing folornly on the patio looking rather untidy. The two cupboards will be finished with a slab which will be sealed and function as worktops, turning a storage area into an outdoor kitchen.

The pergola over the shady seating area is due to go in next. Metal pins have been mortared into the footings for the retaining wall around the seating area, these are to hold in place the chunky 150mm square uprights. The retaining walls will be constructed around the uprights. The whole structure will be painted black, as will all other wood in the garden.

I am currently working on the lighting plan and planting plan for this garden, more of that in the next update.

If you need help designing your garden please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Garden Design Ideas - Small Shallow Garden - Update 1

2011-05-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

The build has now started on this small garden in Warfield, Bracknell, Berkshire. The garden is small and shallow and a great challenge for a garden designer.

The saying goes that you have to break a few eggs to make an omlette and this is my garden design equivalent. The garden has been completely cleared to create a blank canvas for my new contemporary design.

The garden gets very boggy due to heavily compacted clay soil and an underground stream. To combat this, drains under the lawn will be channeled into a massive central soakaway.

Footings for the raised beds that will enclose the perimeter of the garden have already been excavated and concreted. These raised borders will give immediate height to the planting, and enclose the garden with a strong geometric structure giving personality to this rather featureless space.

The paved areas have been set out and are about to be excavated. They will then receive their 75mm sub-base of MOT Type 1 hardcore (scalpings). In places where some rather soggy blue clay has been found we are digging down a little deeper for the sub-base to ensure a really firm foundation for the paving.

Next week the garden will really start to take shape when the walls go up. The retaing walls that form the pergola seating area and curved grass alcove will be faced with this lovely slate cladding. The rest of the walls will be rendered and painted.

Have a look at this previous post to see the before photos and garden design plans.

If you need help designing your garden please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Case study - large, long garden in Caversham, Reading, Berkshire

2011-03-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

This long garden in Caversham, Berkshire is one-third of an acre, backs onto a golf course and has great views over the surrounding countryside. The clients wanted to preserve the views and keep the garden natural. The garden attracts a variety of wildlife which the clients enjoy and want to encourage. The idea is to create a new garden where nature and people can live stylishly side-by-side. The clients had employed an architect to design an extension and therefore appreciate fully the benefits of working with garden designer on the outside space – what a nice change!

The requirements included a herb garden between an existing summer house and shed, a paved area outside the summer house and planting to help integrate it into the garden. The existing patio was to be extended and the original gateposts, complete with decades of lichen, at the bottom of the garden were to be kept and incorporated into the design. Three ancient apple trees were to be retained and added to if possible. The greenhouse was to stay along with the Fig tree that lives behind it. At the front of the house a new driveway and front entrance to make the front garden more practical and beautiful were required.

I love flint, I was born and raised in Buckinghamshire where it is used everywhere. In this garden all retaining walls are faced with flint and stone. Flint is not only a beautiful construction material; it is widely used in this area as there was a huge flint quarry in Reading. I am going to use Limestone blocks as a frame for flint panels in all the walls. This will blend the garden in with local architecture and look stunning.

I really wanted break the garden up into different areas and give it more personality, impact and a sense of drama. The challenge was to do this without using too much hard landscaping. The new design uses a series of circles that delineate the transitions through the garden and mark out different areas. The circles are linked by 45 degree angle straight lines and asymmetric curves, which combine to give the garden a sense of movement and rhythym, a strong shape that directs attention inwards to various focal points, and also allows the eye to travel to the view beyond the gate.

There are grass paths entered and exited via Hornbeam arches and bounded by Hornbeam hedges. Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) is one of my favourite hedging plants. It’s tougher and more drought tolerant than Beech, but looks very similar. Hornbeam (like Beech) holds its dead leaves in winter and they make a lovely rustling sound when moved by the wind.

A sunken seating area at the bottom of the garden with built in seats and a fire pit at its centre will provide a sheltered area for a meal or a glass of wine at night. This area will be sunk 45cm below finished lawn level and accessed by three shallow steps. The retaining walls have a circular tower at one end; one wall has its tower at the entrance and the other at the exit. Each tower will be topped with a copper bowl and water will bubble up through the centre of the bowl. Bronze bio-ethanol torches will be placed opposite each entrance/exit tower. Retaining walls and towers will be faced with stone and flint. The outside face of the retaining walls will be finished with a turf mound to blend it into the landscape. These turf structures also give a natural, sculptural finish to this structure and blend it into the overall aesthetic of the garden.

Either side of the existing gateposts at the bottom of the garden there will be a raised bed 60cm high. The retaining walls will be faced with Limestone and flint.

Between the summer house and shed is a small, formal herb garden accessed through a simple wooden arch and screened with trellis panels. The paving in this area is self binding gravel and the beds are finished with a granite sett edging.

The shed is screened by a low wall 45cm high topped with a bespoke screen of 150mm x 25mm wooden planks set at an angle like a large Venetian blind. The wall will be faced with stone and flint. The redundant area to the rear of the shed and summer house will be cleared and widened to provide space and screening for compost bins and water butts.

The shapes from the rear garden are echoed in the front garden. More parking space and kerb appeal is provided by a gorgeous resin bonded gravel driveway. Planting and a new hedge along the front boundary will soften the new driveway. All planted areas are edged with black granite setts. A 60cm high stone and flint faced wall will form the boundary running up to the garage to give the front garden a more elegant look and tie in with the architecture of the rear garden. The front gatepost will be moved to widen the entrance. The gatepost will be faced with stone and flint. The front step and threshold will be paved with traditional Victorian tiles, an echo back to the original period of the house.

If you need help designing your garden please get in touch. You can email me at linsey@linseysgardens.com, all other contact details are on my Web site.

Steeply sloping garden in Gerrards Cross - Update 3

2011-02-18T01:49:00.001-08:00

The garden in Gerrards Cross is nearly finished, but the 80/20 rule is coming into effect very strongly and slowing things down. This rule states that the last 20% of the work will take 80% of the time, grrrrrrr!

The guys from Manor Landscapes have been trying to render the lower blockwork walls since before Christmas. First there was the snow and ice which stopped them from even attempting to render. Now there is the rain and general soggyness which is preventing the render going off (setting) and it's really slowing everything down. Wet weather also makes pointing the paving very difficult.

However, you can see how near completion we are from these photos. Here is a shot from the top of the garden showing the lovely, large terrace – one of the main requirements from the client. The terrace area has a completely different feel to the rest of the garden.

The small pergola is slmost complete. The chunky posts will soon have an open top and it will be clothed with climbing plants. The purpose of this pergola is to provide screening for outdoor cooking, it helps with privacy in this area which is overlooked by neighbouring houses.

The route up the garden is via a gently sloping self-binding gravel pathway. The sub-base is down for the path and the next step is to lay a membrane and compact the self-binding gravel on top. This will be done as one of the last tasks of the build. Steps lead up to the pathway from the lower terrace area.

Ideally all retaining walls would have been constructed from blockwork but in order to keep the costs down the upper terraces of the garden have been created using railway sleepers. Whilst these upper walls look a little dominating at the moment, once the planting goes in they will be softened. We have already planted the Cupressus on the end of the two horizontal borders separating the self-binding gravel path. No attempt will be made to cover entirely the retaining walls as they deliniate the shapes and structure of the garden and emphasise the horizontal elements.

Here are the other posts about this project which show the progress of the build from the start Introduction, Update 1, Update 2

If you'd like help designing your garden please visit my Web site for telephone contact details, or simply email me linsey@linseysgardens.com.

Garden Design Ideas - Stained Glass

2011-01-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

I recently visited stained glass artist Amanda Winfield of Abinger Stained Glass at her studio and asked her some questions. Here’s what she had to say.

LE: How many years have you been creating stained glass art?

AW: I have been working with glass for about 25 years. My art foundation year was at Medway College of Art & Design. I enjoyed all the disciplines I had studied so I searched for a course that would allow me to do a little bit of everything. I found a new mural design course at the Chelsea School of Art, London that combined everything I liked and was right up my street. Each term we did a different project, working on a large scale and to a brief. During the course I worked with stained glass and really loved it.

When I graduated I worked with a scenic artist called Tom McPhillips, who designs sets for the theatre, bands on tour, and TV, it was really varied and interesting. Tom taught me you could earn a living doing something you loved. He also taught me that you had to be professional, and deliver on time. I left when Tom moved his business to the USA.

I decided to see if I could get a job at Goddard & Gibbs in London- the largest stained glass studio in the country at that time. I walked in, had a chat with the works manager and started the following Monday. I thought I would be there for about six months and ended up staying 15 years!

When I started at Goddard and Gibbs on the bench, I was leading and soldering stained glass panels, learning the craft from people with 30 or 40 years experience. It was an exceptional training ground. My first job was leading and soldering the individual parts that comprised huge pieces like decorative glass domes for mosques in the Middle East. Over the next couple of years I worked my way round the all the different skills within the company. Eventually I became the stained glass works manager. I was managing big projects, which was interesting, but this position took me away from the hands-on creative process, which I love, so I decided to leave Goddard and Gibbs and set up my own business.

LE: Tell me about your clients.

AW: At Goddard & Gibbs I worked on very large-scale projects, from Westminster Abbey to Brunei. Now I carry out mostly domestic work, bespoke stained glass and decorative fused glass.

I also restore stained glass and have recently completed the restoration of 63 stained glass panels for a National Trust property in Kent called Knole House.

LE: Where are your customers based?

AW: My customers are generally local within Surrey, Sussex and South London, but this year I’ve sent panels to Cheshire, Scotland, Anglesey and Switzerland.

LE: Could you describe the process for commissioning a piece of glass art?

AW: When someone approaches me one of the first things I ask about is budget. People often have an unrealistic idea of how much it costs to make a bespoke piece. It’s important to establish whether the client realizes this before commissioning.

Then we have a chat about colour and form, their likes and dislikes. Often my customers don’t know what they want but can quickly tell me what they don’t like! I get them to have a good look at the Web site *insert link* and tell me if they see anything that they like. I then think about their requirements for a while before putting pen to paper for a design.

Thinking time is essential. On a large project I’ll probably spend at least a week getting ideas before I actually start the work. I prepare a watercolour design and send this to the client with the quote. If necessary, I make changes to this design until the client is happy. At this point I will I ask for a 50% deposit and then I make their glass.

LE: Tell me about your training courses.

AW: I run six or seven 1-day workshops every month and they get booked up well in advance. The fused glass course is £140 and the leaded stained glass course is £130.
I take three people at a time; this is a number I’ve found works well. Restricting the number to three means that everyone gets enough attention without me breathing down their neck.

It’s a very enjoyable day. Everyone is here for the same reason, and even if they’re complete strangers by 10:30am they’re all chatting away like old buddies over a cup of tea and biscuits.

The stained glass course covers the whole process of creating a piece of stained glass art - glass cutting, glass fusing, leading and soldering using the traditional gas soldering iron. At the end of the day everyone has a finished piece of glass art of his or her own design.

I had a brilliant marketing boost for the courses when I was featured on the television as part of Kirstie’s Homemade Home. In the first programme I helped Kirstie to make a small panel for her house in Devon and in the second series I helped to make a leaded front door panel.

LE: What do you think glass art brings to the garden?

AW: Stained glass art can add interest to any garden regardless of size or style. In small courtyard garden you can use glass to add depth and interest, you could employ mirrors - reflective surfaces work wonders in the small garden. Decorative glass pieces help give a garden year-round colour and interest and glass sculptures make great focal points.

I like working with the natural shapes of the landscape. The views out of my workshop are amazing. I walk my dog up on the downs and it fills me with inspiration. The sculptures I made in the summer of 2010 take their form from the rolling Surrey Hills. The fused glass is contained in a stainless steel channel that reflects the surrounding planting. The glass panels incorporate natural forms and the gaps between the panels give the illusion that the landscape is part of the sculpture.

LE: How durable is the glass outside?

AW: The glass sculptures we were discussing earlier are made from fused glass 6mm thick, fastened into a stainless steel frame which fixes the structure into the ground using a long, sturdy spike. Stained glass is a little more delicate and would need to be placed in areas where balls are unlikely to be flying about!

I made a sculpture for a competition a few years ago in fused glass and I really wanted to make sure it would not break in transit. So, I made a test piece and took a hammer to it. I had to whack it repeatedly to get anything to happen at all – the hammer just kept bouncing off.

LE: If I want to find out more about stained glass where can I go?

AW: Ely Cathedral has a Stained Glass Museum, and it’s a great place for looking at examples of traditional stained glass. Also there is a great department t the V&A in London.

LE: Do you have a recognizable style?

AW: I don’t ever want to be pigeonholed. I design in a whole variety of styles. This reflects my customer’s different tastes. Fused glass is very popular at the moment. I often use a combination of styles in my stained glass panels including some of my fused pieces.
I’m always trying new things, creating, getting excited. When I get inspired I want to come in here put some bits of glass together, stick something in the kiln and see what happens and by doing that you constantly improving and adding to your palette. I don’t want to sit still and say ‘right this is what I do’. I haven’t been bored for quite a few years now!

I wanted to stick with my roots, which is why I called my business Abinger Stained Glass. I think people are sometimes surprised when they see my Web site - it’s not what they’re expecting. You say the words ‘stained glass’ and people usually think of church windows, but I like to think I’m doing contemporary and unusual things with a traditional medieval medium.

You can see some examples of Amanda's work by visiting her Web site.

If you'd like help designing your garden, and maybe even including some decorative glass art please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Garden Design Ideas - Long, Narrow Garden, Woking, Surrey

2011-01-20T09:19:00.001-08:00

Here's the first update on the build of this long, narrow garden in Woking, Surrey. Despite the foul weather the guys at Tranckle Landscapes are making progress, albeit slower than we had hoped. Week one was mostly clearing and setting out.

The narrow side access meant using a mini digger which was used to remove some scrubby Hazels, a large overgrown Laurel, and a Holly which was not particularly attractive and definitely in the way. The left-hand boundary fence was also cleared of some Ivy infested old stumps to make way for our lovely new native hedge.

The curved shapes that comprise the borders, lawns and steps in the new garden have their springing points outside the garden boundaries. So, in order to mark the garden out accurately, Greg set up a string line from the house up the centre of the garden and used offsets to plot the curves.

The curved shapes of the borders were marked out onto the garden using Sprayline - a nifty aerosol of usually yellow paint that sprays upside down.

Even though the relentless rain has made the site horribly muddy, we're still making progress. Well, when I say 'we', I think you all know that I mean Greg, Matt and Jamie - I'm safely tucked away in the warm and dry most of the time.

The footings for the utility/compost area screening were dug. I think of this screen as an oversized, vertical Venetian blind. It's going to be made of railway sleepers on their ends and placed at an angle around the curve with a slight gap in between each one.

The sub-base for the patio was excavated.

I've used railway sleepers to create retaining walls throughout the garden. The main reason for this was to keep the costs down, but it also meets the client's requirement to keep the scheme as natural as possible without too much hard landscaping. This explains the huge pile of new Pine railway sleepers that arrived on site earlier this week.

Jamie & Matt are in the process of sawing up the railway sleepers into the various lengths needed to create step risers and retaining walls.

Here's a link to the first post about this long, narrow garden.

If you need help designing your garden, please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Garden Design Ideas - Long, Narrow Garden, Woking, Surrey

2011-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

The build for this long, narrow garden in Woking, Surrey has just started and it demonstrates some of the methods you can use to deal with a long, narrow sites.

This is an unusually large plot for a suburban garden and the clients were not using the whole garden. They wanted a plan that would enable them to use more of the garden and make it more interesting. The brief was to keep the scheme soft and as natural as possible with quite a lot of lawn. They also wanted space to grow plenty of plants. They were open to ideas and wanted a scheme that was a little different.

These first four shots show the route up the garden:-

And this is the route back down the garden:-

Here is the plan I designed for the new garden:-

I have used sweeping curves to give the garden movement, draw the eye away from the boundaries, and reduce the tunnel effect of the long, narrow site. I have introduced some height near the house by using some chunky, free-standing wooden arches. There is a self-binding gravel pathway under the arches and through the planting on either side. There is plenty of planting as the client is a keen gardener and has the time and inclination to be outside looking after the plants.

There is a level change of around 1 metre from the top to the bottom of the garden, rising away from the house. To address this, I have designed some curved turf steps with risers constructed from railway sleepers cut and set on end around the curves. Some of the borders will be raised and their retaining walls will also be made from railway sleepers cut and set on end. The reason for using railway sleepers is to keep the garden within a reasonable budget and also avoid using brick or blocks to construct the risers which would not have fitted with the clients’ requirements for a natural looking garden.

There is a secondary seating area half way up the garden, sited in an area which catches the evening sun. The idea is to give the clients a reason for going up the garden and enable them to use more of the garden. The seating area will be screened with a curved hornbeam hedge. I like using hornbeam for screening – it is fast growing, drought tolerant, loved by birds and easy to keep clipped into a tight shape. The purpose of the hedge is to form a green wall at the rear of the seating area and I want it to be cut into a formal shape so that it helps to emphasise the curves of the garden.

The border by the left-hand boundary fence at the rear of the garden will be planted with a mixed native hedgerow. I intend to include Acer Campestre, Euynymus Europaeus, Rosa Canina, Prunus spinosa, Cratageus monogyna, Rosa Rugosa, and Viburnum Opulus.

At the bottom of the garden is a utility area for recycling, composting, and general storage. This area is bounded by railway sleepers set on end at a height of 1.8m with a gap in between each sleeper. This screen will look like a chunky Venetian blind on it’s side. There is also an archway through to this area.

One way of giving interest to a long, narrow garden is to split the space into distinct areas. I had to give the impression of different rooms without erecting hard barriers. I created the illusion of rooms within the garden by dividing the space into three distinct areas and giving each one a different feeling. The area adjoining the house is for dining and sitting and has a more formal feeling with a paved terrace. The simple arches will lead people around this area into a slightly less formal area with the smaller seating area as it's focal point. The third area will be given a more relaxed feeling with loose, native planting and some new trees making a pleasant walk to the storage area with it's unusual screen.

If you’d like some more garden design ideas for long narrow gardens have a look at this link.

If you’d like help designing your garden please visit my Web site for all contact details.

Garden Design Ideas - Solution for a Small Shallow Garden

2011-01-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

This garden in Bracknell, Berkshire is typical of those found on many of the newer estates all over the UK. It is a small plot and the addition of a conservatory has further reduced the size of the garden. It is wide and shallow and overlooked on all sides.

The clients asked for a garden that made the most of the space and took account of boggy areas caused by a nearby stream. They wanted a more secluded area to sit and eat, plus other areas that could be used to make the most of the sunny spots in the garden. The garden has to be especially easy to maintain due to lack of time and the main gardener having recently sustained a back injury.

The new design had to address the slope which runs across the width of the garden. There are existing retaining walls which are to be replaced and a shed which will be removed and replaced with less intrusive storage spaces. The clients have a dog which will use the garden, but also needs to be kept out of the garden when necessary.

The scheme I have designed is drawn on the diagonal to give the garden the appearance of more depth and space. I have rounded the corners of the seating area and water feature area which re-focuses the eye inside the garden rather than allowing it to register only the neighbouring properties. This also gives the garden a greater sense of enclosure and privacy.

I have created a new main seating area in the least overlooked corner of the garden and covered this with a pergola for extra privacy. As this new terrace is in a part of the garden which loses the sun at mid-day it also answers the clients’ requirement for a shaded seating area.

There is also a terrace outside the conservatory doors with a built in barbeque area which will have peripheral cupboards topped with stone to make worktops. A much smaller terrace on the other side of the conservatory is perfect for breakfast on a sunny morning.

All the borders are raised to a height of 450mm which means they can be used as seats. Raised borders also make planting easier to maintain and the plants start off nearly half a metre higher than if planted at ground level and will therefore start providing screening and interest much more quickly.

There is a wall mounted water feature which will comprise a simple steel blade from which water will cascade into a ground level reservoir. This type of water feature is easy to maintain as it requires only periodic topping up of the reservoir. It is also a good idea to remove and clean the filter from the pump occasionally – a very simple task requiring a screwdriver and some soapy water.

Immediately outside the utility room and back door of the property there will be a bike storage shed screened from the main garden by a trellis panel. This area is closed off from the garden with a gate so that the dog can be confined when necessary. Further tool storage will be built into the side of the house in the side passageway from the drive into the back garden.

I'll post updates when construction starts later this year. In the meantime if you would like some garden design ideas for your garden please visit my Web site and feel free to give me a call or drop me an email.

Steeply sloping garden in Gerrards Cross - Update 2

2010-12-15T02:18:00.000-08:00

Work has started again on the Gerrards Cross garden after being temporarily interrupted by the snow - mortar and freezing conditions are not compatible. Although the site still looks a bit of a mess the bones of the new garden are beginning to emerge.

The lowest level a paved courtyard terrace is now taking shape. The blockwork walls are almost complete and ready for their scratch coat of render. The sub-base for the paving is down and the footings for the steps up to the upper levels are being poured.

There is still an element of danger as you can see from the precipitous angle of the digger - rather him than me!

We are in the process of deciding what to do about the left-hand boundary fence which belongs to the neighbour. There are a couple of options. We can replace the fence in its current location (tricky due to level changes on the other side of the fence). We can construct a new fence adjoining the existing fence which won't look so elegant, but avoids costly re-building of existing and sound retaining walls.

The chaps from Manor Landscapes are doing a fabulous job in this tricky site. Here's Chris, my 'Mr December' :)

I've designed the route up the garden as three linked shallow ramps with railway sleeper retaining walls. The reason for using railway sleepers for the upper terraces of this garden is simply down to cost. Building walls out of blockwork or bricks is expensive. If I had specified blockwork and render for all the retaining walls it would have pushed the construction costs way over budget. Because sleepers do not need a footing, are much quicker to put up and cheper to buy than hard materials they are a highly cost effective way to create retaining walls. If you use new sleepers and make sure they are neatly finished they can look good in a contemporary scheme. In every garden build there will be compromises, I felt this was one which had to be made and would not ruin the overall aesthetic of the new garden.

If you need help desgining your garden email me linsey@linseysgardens.com or visit my Web site for all other contact details.

Designing a front driveway

2010-12-03T05:13:00.000-08:00

Although I hate to say it, sacrificing the front garden for parking where parking space is scarce/non-existent near the house, is sometimes unavoidable and guaranteed to add value to a property. I dislike the idea of turning the front garden into a car park, but understand (from experience) the need for doing so.

Here are some suggestions for what makes a good driveway surface:-

1. Stone setts: these are blocks of stone usually 50 or 100mm square and either 50mm or 100mm deep. They are usually made from granite, basalt or sandstone. Setts are laid on a mortar bed on a compacted hardcore sub-base and pointed with a mortar joint. They make a fabulous driveway surface which is durable, attractive and will take most kinds of traffic. However, they are expensive to buy and lay and drainage will be required.

2. Block paving: block paviors are made of dyed concrete and come in various colours. There are two types of block paving. The first uses paviors of the same size 100mm x 200mm, laid in a regular pattern. The second uses a variety of sizes of pavior laid in a semi-random pattern. Block paving is laid on on sand over a compacted hardcore sub-base and the joints are filled with fine sand. They are cheaper than setts, and are permeable – water runs through the sand in the joints of the blocks. They are also easy to lift if you need to get access to, for example, a service pipe underneath the driveway.

3. Resin-bound/resin-bonded gravel: my absolute favourite. Gravel is either sprayed onto a resin layer thereby sticking it onto the surface, or mixed with resin and applyed to the surface with a trowel. It comes in loads of great colours and unlike loose gravel can be swept. It is hard wearing and gives a lovely natural looking surface. Resin-bound and resin-bonded gravel requires a hard edging – setts, bricks or block paviors are often used – and a sub-base. It is not the cheapest option but can be made self-draining.

4. Loose gravel: this is the cheapest and most often used solution for driveways. You can lay gravel directly onto the sub-soil, but I don’t recommend this. It should be laid on a sub-base over a membrane. A gravel driveway will also need a hard edging to stop the gravel moving onto the pavement and other garden areas. Gravel is self-draining, cheap, looks attractive if well maintained and gives a crunch when walked on that helps with security. It is hard to keep clean as you cannot sweep it and requires maintenance.

5. Stabilised gravel: this involves laying a structure comprising plastic honeycomb pockets which hold the gravel in place. The structure is made up of square sections which join together. Stabilised gravel requires a sub-base and an edging – railway sleepers will do, but setts, bricks, or paviours are also used. A membrane should be laid over the sub-base, but the best system available has a membrane attached to the base of each section avoiding the need for a separate membrane. This system gives a hard surface that can be walked on in heels and driven on by heavy vehicles – I know because I’ve just specified it for a Polo yard car park. It’s a little more expensive than just chucking down a bulk bag of gravel, but will last longer, look better, require less maintenance and is easier to rake clean than loose gravel.

There are other solutions, and a combination of two of the above (some gravel and some block paving, for example) can work well and help get a quality look at less cost. Don’t forget to check with the Local Authority before ripping up the front garden and putting in parking, it’s always worth getting a Permitted Development Certificate. If you want to avoid the SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) legislation check the requirements and make sure your scheme is compliant otherwise you’ll need planning permission.

Another necessary expense it to get the local authority to drop the kerb so that you can access the driveway. If you do not do this people can still legally park in front of your new driveway.

One final plea, if there is space, include some planting to soften the scheme and keep the front of the house looking more like a garden and less like a car park.

Have a look at these front gardens in Woking, Surrey, Crowthorne, Berkshire and Chiswick, London.

If you need help designing your garden please visit my Web site to have a look at some of my work. All contact details are on the Web site.

Sloping Garden in Gerrards Cross, Bucks - Update 1

2010-11-18T01:44:00.001-08:00

Visited site yesterday for the first time since construction started. Although destruction is a more appropriate term for what's going on in the garden at present.

I love this part when the old garden is taken down to reveal the skeleton on which my new design will be built.

This garden has a 3m drop from top to bottom. I'm used to surveying tricky spaces and usually love doing sloping sites. However, this garden was a devil to survey with plants in the way and multiple level changes. The contractors will check my levels carefully before starting construction.

The garden is not huge, so it's very important that all measurements are accurate - even the smallest discrepancy will have an effect on all parts of the plan. The contractors will double check all my measurements before putting in any of the retaining walls.

It's an old property and we're not sure what's under the existing garden, although nothing alarming has shown up so far.

If you'd like help designing your garden please visit my Web site for telephone contact details, or simply email me linsey@linseysgardens.com.

Sloping Garden in Gerrards Cross

2010-11-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

Slopes - I love 'em! This garden in Gerrards Cross is exactly the kind of challenge I like. It is on a steep slope, and the only access is through a church at the rear of the property.

The client has had the interior of this traditional property updated in a more contemporary style and wanted a garden that reflected the inside of the house.

A much larger patio area is required.

The planting has become overgrown and the retaining walls need replacing.

The clients love gardening, but wanted the garden to have more structure and for the planting to be more manageable.

The top of the garden catches the last of the day's sun and the clients requested a large lawn area where they could sit in the evening.

A more gentle route up the garden is required.

Here's the garden is designed for them.

There will be planting and a pergola on the upper lawn terrace although this is not shown on the plan. The green, pointy cones in the ends of the horizontal borders will be Cupressus sempervirens (Italian Cypress) which were requested by the client.

The build started this week and I can't wait to see the garden take shape.

If you'd like help designing your garden please visit my Web site for telephone contact details, or simply email me linsey@linseysgardens.com.

Fragrant Shrubs for your Winter Garden

2010-10-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Winter can often be overlooked when planning a planting scheme. My clients always ask for year-round interest in their planting schemes, so I have some recommendations for plants that really come into their own in the Winter months.

Some of the most fragrant plants are those which flower in winter. The reason for this is they are trying extra hard to attract the very few insects around at this time of year. Here are some of my favourite winter flowering shrubs:-

1. Daphne odora aureomarginata: this is one of my favourite shrubs. It’s evergreen with a variegated leaf and small pink highly fragrant flowers. It holds a nice tight shape and can be pruned if it gets too big for its allotted space. It will also tolerate shade, and prefers a well-drained alkaline soil.

2. Viburnum bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’: another great plant that will grow in sun or shade. Give it some space as it can get quite large, although you can keep it pruned. It is deciduous, with clusters of pale pink fragrant flowers on bare branches throughout the winter. It will grow virtually anywhere in any kind of soil.

3. Sarcococca confusa: an evergreen shrub with gorgeous scented white flowers, and an interesting arching habit. You will be able to smell the scent of its rather insignificant flowers all over the garden. It is highly shade tolerant and can be planted under trees. It is not fussy about soil type.

4. Lonicera frangrantissima: a shrubby deciduous honeysuckle with cream flowers with a gorgeous sweet scent. It will tolerate some shade, but does better in full sun. Give it some space as it can get quite large and looks better with just a little light pruning. It will grow in any kind of soil.

5. Osmanthus burkwoodii: this is a fantastic evergreen shrub which makes an excellent hedge. It has white flowers that appear in late winter and are very fragrant. It will grow in sun or shade and any type of soil. It performs best when kept well pruned.

6. Chimonanthus praecox: best grown against a warm, sunny wall. This shrub has pretty yellow, fragrant flowers with brownish purple centres on bare stems throughout the winter. In summer it has attractive glossy, lance-shaped leaves. A lovely fragrant shrub, its stems are often cut and used in flower arranging. It will grow in all soil types.

7. Mahonia x media ‘Charity’: one of my least favourite plants due to its overuse in municipal planting schemes. Mahonia can be used to good effect at the back of a border where its architectural foliage and plumes of yellow fragrant flowers do light up a dull winter day. But do keep it pruned or it will get huge, woody and hideous. It will tolerate shade and any soil type.

8. Hammamelis: commonly known as Witchhazel, this lovely shrub is a must for the winter garden. Delicate, spidery flowers which can be either yellow red or orange appear in late winter on bare branches. The subtle, unusual scent from the flowers is a real treat in the midst of winter. It prefers an acid to neutral soil and will grow in shade. Although it’s deciduous the leaves also provide lovely autumn colour.

If you’d like help with your garden please get in touch. Please visit my Web site and have a look at some of my work.

New work from artist Nate Frizzell

2010-10-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

Some more amazing art by Nate Frizzell. I had to look twice as I thought it was a photograph. He's so talented.

Dwarf Japanese Anemones

2010-10-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's ever worked with me knows I love Japanese Anemones (particularly Queen Charlotte) and whenever I plant a garden I try to fit some in. The problem with them is they are tall and can get bashed down by the autumn rains. Here's a link to Graham Rice's new plants blog introducing four new dwarf varieties of Japanese Anemone - I'll certainly be using them.

Planning Issues - Landscape Schemes for New Developments

2010-10-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

This article in Horticulture Week is yet more proof that landscape schemes around new developments are not being enforced.

It's all very well for people to pay lip service to wanting to improve the landscape around new developments, it's a very popular stance. Introducing legislation to encourage more green space and additional planting is also excellent. However, if the legislation is not enforced and developers know they will get away with not complying they simply will not. How depressing.

Creating Walls using Rammed Earth

2010-09-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

A very big thank you to my guest blogger Michael Thompson from Rammed-Earth.Org. Michael is an expert on creating beautiful and environmentally friendly rammed earth walls.

An introduction to Rammed Earth by Michael Thompson Rammed-Earth.Org

When I first stumbled upon rammed earth, I was no eco warrior. The most I ever did to save the planet was recycle my empty beer cans. But building with earth turns out to be a very sustainable thing to do...

The rammed earth building method is a very clean process that produces a smooth finish and avoids the heavy cost to the environment of building with bricks and blocks; but best of all, It's dirt cheap!

Using rammed earth involves a process of compressing a mixture of damp earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay into an externally supported former that moulds the shape of a wall section creating a solid block of earth. Traditional stabilisers such as lime or even animal blood can be used to stabilise the material, but cement has been the stabiliser of choice for modern times.

The use of cement is contentious as its manufacture creates ten percent of manmade carbon emissions. However, this may be substantially offset by the partial substitution of cement with alternatives such as ground granulated blast furnace slag or by using hydrated lime.

Formwork is set up to create the desired shape of the section of wall and damp subsoil is placed inside the former to a depth of around 100 to 150mm. A pneumatically powered backfill tamper - something like a hand-held pogo stick with a flat plate on the bottom (or alternatively a manual tamper) is then used to compact the material to around fifty percent of its original volume. Further layers of material are added and the process is repeated until the wall has reached the required height.

A rammed earth wall is so solid that the former can be removed immediately. However it will require a number of warm dry days after construction to dry and harden. The structure can take up to two years to cure completely and the more it cures the stronger the structure becomes. When the process is complete, it is much like constructing a handmade wall of solid rock.
In modern variations of the method, rammed earth walls are constructed on top of conventional footings or a reinforced concrete base. To add interest to the structure, some builders add coloured oxides or items such as bottles or pieces of timber.

Because rammed earth structures utilise locally available materials, they typically have a low embodied energy rating and generate very little waste. Earth used for building is a widely available resource and harvesting it for use in construction has minimal environmental impact.
Insects won't infest rammed earth and if unstabilised the material is reusable and biodegradable.

Rammed earth is not only an economically viable construction technique; it also results in a visually pleasing end product.

To find out more please visit my Web site and browse through all the photos and videos or even buy my recently published DIY Rammed Earth Manual.

Maybe i'll meet you on one of my rammed earth courses one day...

Michael RammedEarthOrg
Oh, and one more thing,
Reduce - Re-use - Recycle, One Planet... TO THE MAX!

Planning Issues for Garden Construction

2010-07-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

This is a really useful site all about garden buildings. It's got an excellent section on planning and building regulations - people are often confused about the difference between the two - setting out what doesn't need planning permission. When I designed a garden room for a Maidenhead (Berkshire) garden I checked with the planners. I was told that as well as the total square metreage and other planning considerations the structure has to be more than 5.5m away from the house.

When you're doing anything major in your garden a phone call to the planning office in your local Council is always worthwhile. Some things need planning that you would not expect. Under certain circumstances you may need planning for decking. A quick call will clarify the issue, and if you need planning permission I know it's a nuisance and slows things down, but at least you will avoid expensive alterations or even being made to remove the structure entirely.

For driveways even if you're sure you don't need planning permission, it's worth applying for a permitted development certificate, so that there can be no doubt whatsoever in the future.

Changes to Planning Legislation - Will New Houses Get Larger Gardens?

2010-07-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve lived in my current house in Bracknell, Berkshire for longer than I originally intended and am considering moving – I need a bit more space. It will be with great regret that I leave this house. I bought it because it has a lovely feel to it and a great sized garden – not too dauntingly huge, but large enough to create some interesting, distinct areas and grow loads of plants. I’ve got room for two sheds, a greenhouse, three seating areas at different levels, a herb garden, a pergola and plenty of interesting plants. I’ve spent countless hours excavating, constructing the different levels (well, recently paying other people to do the construction), building the pergola, laying a pretty brick and pebble mosaic seating area, fiddling about with the planting and growing stuff in my greenhouse. I’ll hate to leave my garden; I love it and it gives me an emotional connection to this house.

However, looking around for a suitable new house has filled me with despair. I may be getting a detached house, and for that privilege I’ll have to pay a lot more, but they all seem to have miniscule gardens. What I really want is a detached three bedroom house that has a third reception room which I can use as an office, and a nice large garden. Such a property does not seem to exist. The main problem is that a lot of the new houses around Bracknell have tiny, in some cases almost non-existent gardens.

It was therefore encouraging to read in The Garden recently that the Government has decided to scrap housing density targets for councils that currently require 30 dwellings per hectare. This, according to Greg Clarke, Minister for Decentralisation, was forcing councils to build houses without gardens. The theory is that this will result in the creation of new houses with larger gardens.

I’m encouraged by the change in legislation, but call me skeptical if you will, when I say that I’m not convinced this will result in a sudden proliferation of new houses with generous-sized gardens. I think that developers will still try and maximize their profits, which means cramming as many houses as possible on any given piece of land.

If you'd like to talk to me about making the most of your garden, however small, contact me through my Web site.

Victorian front garden design in Chiswick

2010-07-20T03:03:00.000-07:00

On the surface this Chiswick front garden doesn't look like it needs a plan. However, the plan although simple was used to get quotes from landscapers and help the clients visualise the garden and choose materials.

Designing a Victorian front garden is all about the detail. Wall to railing height ratio depends partly on individual taste and partly on the depth of the garden. An elevation of the wall and railings was used to show the clients how different wall and railing heights would work in the garden.

It's the details that are so important in designing a small Victorian front garden. Choice of path tiles, rail heads, railings and in this case designing some simple new gateposts to complmement the scheme.

I chose a different tile to give the garden a modern twist, but the client was unsure and decided to go with a traditional checkerboard pattern. We scoured the James Hoyle catalogue and found the cast iron urns for the tops of the gateposts, and some unusual railing heads. To keep costs down we had the railings and new gateposts made in mild steel, but the urns and rail heads are an original Victorian pattern and made in cast iron.

Also important is knowing the maximum distance apart for railings in a public place. The railings must be no more than 100mm apart. The reason for this is so that children cannot get their heads stuck in them - really! Then bearing this in mind, rail heads need to be chosen that will work in scale with these distances and the height of the railings.

The rest of the paving is black Limestone which blends really nicely with the black and white Victorian tiled pathway.

The client decided to spend a little more and use re-claimed London stock bricks for the front wall and re-claimed York stone for the wall capping. In such a small space it is important to ensure a high quality of finishes and build.

I finished this small Victorian front garden with some simple planting. A half-standard Magnolia grandiflora sits in a circular planting pocket in the centre of the garden. Box balls and Lavender 'Hidcote' give an elegant and timeless finish to the perimeter borders. The client also requested a Wisteria which will be trained along the neighbouring fence and up a trellis boxing in the downpipes.

Ideally, I would have liked to re-instate the railings on the boundaries with the neighbouring properties. These would have been full height with no wall at their base. Unfortunately, the neighbours were not keen on the idea, so we had to work with the existing boundary fences.

Take a look at the before and after shots:-

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Urn detail

Railing head detail

If you need help designing your garden whatever it's size get in touch via my Web site.

Welcome back Large Blue butterfly

2010-07-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing story of perseverance. The reintroduction of the Large Blue butterfly to the UK where it was extinct. The key lay in understanding the latter part of it's caterpillar phase. Its a fascinating story of tricking a single species of ant into believing it is an ant grub. It does this by singing to the ants and secreting honeydew. The ants take it down into their nests where it feeds on ant grubs before hatching out into a buttefly.

Read the full story here.

My Garden

2010-07-12T06:58:00.001-07:00

My garden is looking very pretty at the moment.

Free Garden Design Advice

2010-07-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to take part in the Love Bracknell, Love Summer Livin’ event being held in Bracknell town centre next Friday and Saturday 16 and 17 July. I will be dispensing free garden design advice to anyone who needs it. All you need to do is come into Bracknell town centre and find me (I will be near the central clock water fountain) and ask me anything you like about your garden project. I will be able to give you advice on any aspect of getting the best out of your garden, such as preparing a scale garden design plan, designing and maintaining appropriate planting, DIY garden construction, and selecting good contractors.

I have designed a garden to demonstrate what can be achieved in even the smallest space – in this case 5.6m x 5.6m. Landscaper Greg Tranckle will be building the garden which includes raised beds, paving and decking. Sadly, we won’t be able to put up the pergola on the day because Bracknell Town Council won’t let us dig up the block paving to get the posts in – spoilsports! Obviously we can’t use mortar, but the walls will be built, paving laid and decking constructed to create a useable outdoor space. Come along and have a look.

Check out my Web site for other examples of my work and in particular how to cope with tricky spaces and steeply sloping gardens.

Small Garden Design

2010-06-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

If you’ve got a very small garden it doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautiful outdoor space. I’ve seen many dismal small back gardens that are featureless and neglected because people cannot see their potential, or simply don’t know what to do with them. Even the tiniest space can be a garden and a cleverly designed small garden can look amazing. The key is to make use of the vertical space. Here are my tips for making use of every inch of space:-

1. Walls: if you’re lucky enough to have a walled garden you’ve got an immediate advantage. Attach some wall mounted troughs – use lightweight fibreglass versions, there are some really good quality ones available these days. Plant the troughs with a mixture of plants to give you year round colour. Installing a micro irrigation system is easier than it sounds and will ensure your planters remain healthy even when you’re away.

2. Trellis: use trellis clothed in a mixture of ivies, clematis, climbing roses and jasmine for a display of colour and scent throughout the seasons. If you have no borders, use floor mounted troughs and back with trellis.

3. Fences: hang baskets and troughs from fence posts, you can even mount troughs along the tops of fence panels, but make sure they’re well secured. Plant climbers and support with wires or trellis.

4. Wall shrubs: some shrubs do best when secured to a wall or fence, such as Garrya elliptica, Fatshedera lizeii and Itea illicifolia.

5. Uprights: dig a hole 600mm deep and 300mm square, place a 100mm square 3m long post in the hole and mortar in place with some Postcrete. You now have a 2.4m high hanger for pots and baskets. Place more than one in a line and you have the makings of a vertical garden even if you have no fences or walls. You can use this method to create a really interesting divider, single rail pergola, or the back of a built in seat.

6. Dual purpose features: a built in bench seat can have storage underneath and a planter along the top of its seat back – so, actually that’s triple purpose. If you think carefully you can make all garden elements work harder.

7. Plants: be highly selective with plants. Make sure that plants are either evergreen or long flowering (preferably scented) and if possible both. Plants that don’t perform must be ruthlessly culled – all plants count, there’s no room for nursing stragglers.

Need more ideas for designing a small garden? Have a look at this previous post that gives tips on how to make a small garden seem bigger.

If you need help designing your garden get in touch all contact details are on my Web site.

Contemporary Garden Silchester Berkshire

2010-05-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Although it’s not quite finished yet, here are some photos of my most recent project, a contemporary garden in Silchester, Berkshire.

The garden is fairly small at around 18 metres square and is overlooked on all sides. The brief was to create a contemporary garden with clean lines and not too much planting. The clients wanted to introduce some structure and interest to the garden, creating distinct areas for eating, relaxing and catching the last of the evening sun. There was an existing water feature to be retained and a statue to be incorporated into the scheme.

I created three different areas within the garden, each with its own function. There is a built in seating area in the corner that gets the last of the day’s sun. The dining terrace outside the kitchen has been extended and enclosed with a raised border. The terrace outside the lounge is enclosed with trellis screening and an archway to the rear of the garden – it will be finished with black rattan sofas and a coffee table. A pergola covers the built-in seating area and runs along the bottom of the garden which gives this area a distinct character – cool and shady in the heat of the day. The built in seating area is given extra privacy by fixing 50mm batons horizontally to the wooden pergola posts set into the walls, giving it an intimate, enclosed atmosphere.

Raised borders have been constructed using blockwork walls with a rendered finish. The walls are painted white and all wood is stained black – the old fence panels which were painted a bright orange before are still resisting the black paint and need a few more coats.

Paths are self-binding gravel which crunches beautifully underfoot without giving that horrible sinking feeling of walking on ordinary gravel. I love using this material it is a nice contrast to other hard materials and can be swept with a soft broom. All paths are edged with 100mm square black granite setts where they join the lawn.

The planting features low, square box hedges that anchor the corners of the walls and the pergola posts, providing structure and emphasizing the garden’s architecture. The rest of the planting is a mixture of silver and dark purple foliage and grasses. There are some palms (Butia and Chamerops) at the client’s request, and I think they work well with the other, mostly foliage plants. There are some gorgeous double white paeonies (Duchesse de Nemours), some of my favourite low-maintenance perennials (Veronicastrum, Echinops, Japanese Anemones, Hemerocallis) to give splashes of seasonal colour. We were too late for bulbs, but later on this year I’ll add some Alliums, Crocus, Anemone Blanda, Snowdrops and Tulips for spring interest. Climbers (which still need tying in) have been chosen for scent, and seasonal colour – Trachelospermum jasminoides, Actinidia Kolomikta, Clematis, Lonicera, Vitis Coignetaie, Vitis Vinifera.

The statue is used as a focal point at the end of the pergola. A mirror supported in a custom built frame serves the dual function of reflecting the statue and hiding a particularly ugly, but necessary piece of construction. The mirror also creates a false perspective, giving the impression that the garden continues beyond the boundary. I wrote at length about this kind of trick of the eye in a previous blog post.

Finishing touches will include some tall pots with box balls, cushions for the built-in seats, new furniture and lighting.

If you'd like to transform your garden get in touch. All contact details are on my Web site.

7 Tips For Choosing A Garden Designer

2010-04-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm making a decision, doing a bit of DIY, or even just going to the supermarket, I make a list. This articulation of my requirements and the act of writing them down helps to clarify my ideas, point up potential problems and highlight omissions. The same applies to designing a garden - even installing a simple patio will work out better if you have a plan.

So, give your project some thought and you’ll always get a better outcome. This means you’ll need to find a garden designer. Someone else’s take on your garden project is always valuable. A fresh pair of eyes will produce ideas that don’t suggest themselves automatically to the person who spends every day looking out on the garden. If that someone has built many gardens before, even better.

How do you go about choosing a garden designer? It’s tough – there are a lot of us out there. So, here are my 7 tips for choosing a garden designer:-

1. Personal recommendation: ask around at work, social gatherings, family, trusted contractors (plumbers, builders, etc) and see if you can find a designer that someone has used before. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are the right person for you, but it is a start and you know they have done a good job for someone else.

2. Search on Google: put in some specific search terms, for example, do you have a steeply sloping garden? If so, type in sloping garden design and see who’s got projects on their site that they’ve completed that match these criteria.

3. Breadth of work: look for someone who has a good breadth of projects – all sizes and shapes. It shows that this landscape designer knows how to take everything from a small, poky, dark courtyard to a large, empty field and turn it into a garden.

4. Qualifications: qualifications are a tricky one, of course they are important, but college courses vary in quality and content. It is just as important that a garden designer can take what they’ve learned in college and translate this into solving real-world garden design problems. There are some excellent landscape designers out there who have no qualifications at all. See my next point.

5. Portfolio and completed projects: meet your chosen garden designer/designers and look through their portfolio of completed projects. Don’t get too carried away by the presentation of the plans. The ability to articulate the design on paper and make it look pretty is important, but this doesn’t mean the design will work when it’s built. Make sure you look at photographs of the completed jobs, go and see some of the gardens and talk to the clients.

6. Relationship: you must like the garden designer, trust the quality of their work and believe you can have a great working relationship with them. Having your garden designed is a very personal experience. You will need to work closely with your designer and spend time in their company, if you don’t think you can get on with them find someone else.

7. Professionalism: this is so important. You are entrusting your garden designer with creating an enduring part of your property and almost certainly spending a large chunk of your money. They must fill you with confidence that they can behave and run their business in a professional manner. The designer will need to communicate clearly with you and all the contractors involved in the build, understand the technicalities of the construction, be able to solve problems as they arise, and provide good documentation for each stage of the project. If you don’t believe they will be able to do this, keep on looking.

If you need help with designing your garden check out some of my work on my Web site and give me a call to discuss your requirements.

7 ways to design a small garden and make it seem larger

2010-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

When designing a very small garden it’s often hard to see what can be done to create interest and make the space seem larger. Here are some tips on how to trick the eye so that a very small garden appears bigger and more interesting:-

1. Create a false doorway: fixing a gate to a boundary wall or fence, even if it leads nowhere will give the impression there is a something beyond the confines of the garden boundaries. Try using an old wrought iron gate with mirror behind it and a fringe of climbers to blur the edges.

2. Use contrasting colours: another way to suggest that the garden extends beyond its actual boundaries is to use contrasting colours. A pale wall with a door-sized rectangle painted in a darker colour framed by some climbers and planted pots will look like a passageway. You can also use contrasting flower and foliage colours to add the illusion of extra depth to a garden.

3. Create a false perspective: this can be achieved in several ways such as using diminishing sized pots, plants or statuary, or narrowing a path as it approaches the boundary.

4. Combine hard and soft elements: if you terminate a pergola or pathway at the garden boundary and then plant the boundary with evergreen climbers and the base of the path or pergola with evergreen shrubs it will blur the edges of the garden and give the impression of greater space.

5. Trompe L’Oeil: literally translated trompe l’oeil means trick of the eye. They are usually notional views into a landscape beyond the garden and can give a quirky extra dimension to the garden. If done well they can make a real statement. If in doubt keep it simple by painting a fake doorway and surrounding it with evergreen planting and climbers.

6. Level changes: use level changes to create interest and add extra depth to a small garden. If you include some steps, raised beds, or even a raised pool in a small square garden it will give the garden an extra dimension and make it appear more interesting. The eye will stop on the level changes and not be drawn so immediately to the garden boundaries.

7. Structures: wooden structures are a great addition to a garden they enable vertical planting, give height and can help create the impression of a more spacious garden. A heavily planted pergola placed against a boundary wall prevents the eye stopping on the garden boundary and blurs the edges of the garden suggesting extra space beyond. An archway part way down a path suggests another area of garden.

If you'd like help designing your garden please get in touch - all contact details are on my Web site.

Planting a Hedge

2010-03-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

Now you’ve chosen the right plants for your new hedge (click here to see my suggestions), you need to prepare the ground and plant them. A hedge is simply a row of trees or shrubs planted close together, so you prepare the soil and look after them the same as you would any other tree or shrub.

Dig over the area to a depth of at least one spade’s depth. Break up the soil, remove any large stones, weeds, and old roots. Dig in a generous helping of compost. Well rotted stable manure, leaf mould, the contents of your home compost bin, green waste compost, or spent mushroom compost are all good soil conditioners. When digging in the compost throw on a handful of fish blood and bone per square metre.

Hedging plants are commonly sold as bare rooted ‘whips’. This means the plants are not in pots and have no soil around their roots. They can survive perfectly well like this whilst being transported, but don’t leave it too long before you plant them. If you receive the plants and can’t plant them immediately, dig a hole anywhere in the garden, put the plants in and roughly tread in the soil around their roots. This will keep them alive and healthy until you’re ready to plant them.

The recommended planting distance for bare root whips is at 45cm centres, which means that the centres of the plants are 45cm apart. You need to be fairly precise, so get a tape measure and space the plants out accurately. If you’re planting along a boundary with a pathway, plant the whips far enough from the boundary so they have room to grow without encroaching on the right of way. Decide how wide you want the hedge to be when it’s mature then place the plants half this distance in from the boundary.

Do not plant the whips too deeply, cover the roots but do not bury the stem. Make sure the plants are upright, then firm in the soil well around their roots to make sure there is no air left in the planting hole. I usually tread around the plants to make sure they are nice and secure in their new homes.

Water the hedge well and apply a thick mulch over the planting area at least 50mm deep. There are loads of things that can be used as a mulch such as chipped bark, green waste compost, cocoa shells and some newer synthetic materials. Mulching will help seal in moisture, keep down weeds. I like to use something compostable for mulching so that it breaks down and provides nutrients for the growing hedge.

For the next couple of years while it is establishing you’ll need to keep the hedge well watered. I always keep the mulch blanket topped and the planting area weed free. All plants benefit from the occasional application of a long acting fertilizer and hedges are no different. I like to feed my hedges a couple of times a year with some fish blood and bone which I simply sprinkle on the surface around the base of the plants.

If you are plagued by rabbits or deer you can buy stem guards that are cheap, simple to fit and protect against casual nibbling. My experience with deer is that you’ll have to be a bit more robust to keep them away. You might need to put up a temporary fence and although this looks ugly it can eventually be removed and may be the only way of allowing the plants to mature. There are plenty of on-line sources for stem guards, just type spiral stem guards into Google. Here's the Web link to a supplier I found.

Hedges should be cut at a slight angle from top to bottom; this angle is called a batter. The top of the hedge should be slightly narrower than the base to ensure the top growth doesn’t prevent water and light reaching the roots of the plants. I have Beech hedges and tend to cut them when they look untidy, usually twice a year in the early and late Summer. Formal hedges will need cutting more often than looser shrub hedges. The RHS has some great advice on when and how often to prune hedges.

So go out this weekend and make space for a hedge. If you need help get in touch. You can email me at Linsey@linseysgardens.com, or visit my Web site for all other contact details.

Plants I Keep Meaning to Plant

2010-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

There are plants I really love and keep meaning to make room for in my garden. I’ve just been reading an article about Trilliums and reminded myself how much I love them. Ever since I first saw their unusual lily-like flowers shining out of the dappled shade I have wanted some in my garden. They would particularly like conditions in one part of my garden which gets quite a bit of shade from a Beech tree. I just need to juggle a couple of ferns into a different space and I’ll have the perfect place.

The trouble is that they are best transplanted as they start to die back in late June or early July, just when us garden designers are super busy. At this time of year I’ve always got several projects in various stages of design or build and I forget about my careful plans for my own garden, or run out of time to put them into action.

Trilliums are woodland plants and as my garden backs onto a small wood they would work really well. They don’t like to be too wet or too dry which is a tricky balance, but you can help out with mulching and good soil preparation. I’ve got a plentiful supply of leaf mould which makes the perfect mulch and compost for Trilliums. I also know where to get some pine needles, which when composted with some other organic matter suits Trilliums well as a mulch or compost and provides really good drainage.

Trilliums come in a variety of colours, although most commonly in white and all shades of red from dark purple through to pale pink, there is also a yellow variety. You can get double flowered varieties which are gorgeous. Some Trilliums also have wonderful ornamental leaves with dark spots on them. They look exotic, but are not difficult to grow and make a fantastic understory in a woodland planting scheme.

Apparently the Trillium is the wildflower symbol of Ontario – well, you learn something new every day.....

Here’s a link to a site that supplies Trilliums on-line.

If you need any help with any area of your garden, from planting advice please to full garden design, please get in touch by emailing me at linsey@linseysgardens.com, or visit my Web site for other contact details.

Choosing the right plants for a hedge

2010-03-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

A well kept hedge not only looks good, but is one of the most positive things you can plant to help out wildlife. A hedge provides a home for a diverse array of small mammals, birds, insects, plants, and fungi. Maintaining a hedge is relatively easy compared with tending a large lawn, or a mixed herbaceous border.

But what plants make the best hedges? This depends largely on where the hedge is and its purpose. If you’re trying to create a smart front boundary a more formal, clipped hedge works best. If you have a formal garden which you’re trying to screen or compartmentalize then, once again, blocks of clipped hedging usually work best. If you have a less formal garden or want to create a boundary adjoining open countryside a wildlife hedge is perfect and a wonderful habitat for all kinds of wild critters.

You can make a hedge out of almost any shrub. A hedge of Lavender looks and smells wonderful and is brilliant for attracting insects to the garden. I also like to see shrub roses like Rosa ‘Hansa’ planted in blocks to make a fragrant, informal hedge. You can use evergreens like Choisya, Aucuba, and Ilex (Holly) to make a looser, shrub hedge. If you are using shrubs to create a hedge you will need to prune them with secateurs. Don’t let shrub hedges get overgrown, you’ll eventually have to cut them hard back and they’ll look sad and bald.

I’m not a big fan of Laurel. I know it makes a robust, fast-growing evergreen hedge and is cheap to buy, but if it’s not cut back ruthlessly it looks ugly. Laurel also doesn’t respond well to being cut with a hedge trimmer because its large leaves get sliced in half and go all crispy at the edges. Not a good look. Instead, I often use Bay. It is a type laurel (Laurus nobilis), but makes a much better hedge than ordinary Laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus). Bay has smallish, matt, dark green leaves which not only look gorgeous, but smell lovely and can be used in cooking. Bay grows rapidly without becoming as woody as bog standard Laurel and its smaller thinner leaves lend themselves much better to a haircut.

Yew makes the most stunning hedge and wins on so many levels. It has very small, evergreen leaves, which allows it to be cut into crisp shapes. You get a great architectural effect from blocks of Yew hedging in a garden. Yew makes fantastic walls for a garden room, you can easily cut doorways and arches through it, and it makes a dense habitat for animals, birds and insects. Yew is relatively slow growing and this puts people off using it for hedges, but you will get around 30cm growth in a year.

I also love Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and Beech (Fagus) which are very similar looking plants. Hornbeam is more drought tolerant than Beech so may be a better bet in these uncertain climatic times. Copper Beech makes a very interesting alternative to the straight green Beech or Hornbeam and gives a striking backdrop to shrubs and herbaceous plants. Although Hornbeam and Beech are deciduous they retain their dead leaves throughout the winter, so they are not totally bald and make an evocative rustling sound on windy days. Beech and Hornbeam make great nesting places for birds and hedgehogs are often to be found snuffling about in the dead leaves at their base.

A true wildlife hedge contains a mixture of native hedging species that provide a habitat designed to be aesthetically pleasing and also good for all different kinds of wildlife. It is a mixture of native species traditionally found in country hedges. Common plants in a native hedge include Hawthorne, Field Maple, Dog Roses, Blackthorn, Quickthorn, Spindle, Hazel and Dogwood. These plants often have wonderful blossom in spring, then fruits in the autumn. Others, like the Field Maple (Acer Campestre) have fantastic autumn foliage colour.

Buckingham Nurseries supplies individual hedging plants and also native hedging mixes. If you want to create a wildlife hedge, just visit their site, input the length of hedge and choose your plants. They’ve got loads of information on hedges and how to plant them. They supply many different types of hedging plants at really good prices. If you want to plant a ready made hedge there are several companies out there that will do this for you, but it will not be cheap.

If you need help planning a hedge, or sourcing the plants at reasonable prices, why not get in touch and let me help? Email me Linsey@linseysgardens.com, or visit my Web site for other contact details.

Big Thanks to Thames Valley Animal Welfare

2010-03-08T05:34:00.000-08:00

This is an unapologetic plug for the Thames Valley Animal Welfare(TVAW) – it’s my blog and I reserve the right to write occasionally about things that affect my life other than garden design.

I’m a cat person – I think you either are or aren’t, you either get cats or you don’t. My mother is also a cat person. When my Dad died four years ago Mum had her gorgeous cat Sammy to keep her company and help her through her loss.

Sammy

Sadly, at the relatively young age of 11 Sammy succumbed to renal failure and had to be put to sleep. My Mum was heartbroken and feeling a bit lonely in the house on her own for the first time. There was nothing else for it but to find her another cat to fill the large Sammy-shaped shoes.

Sammy

So, I’m writing this blog to say thanks so much to everyone at the TVAW for introducing us to the fantastic Fred. I phoned them to ask about another cat that I’d seen in their column in my local newspaper. When I described our requirements for a large, animated teddy bear of a cat, Anne immediately suggested Fred. She told me he was a great big, soppy, cuddly cat and she wasn’t lying.

Fred

I also want to thank Catherine who’d been looking after Fred for making the introduction of cat and parent so easy. She brought Fred over to Buckinghamshire, removing the need for my Mum to drive round the dreaded Bracknell ring road, which she absolutely hates. As soon as we saw him we were smitten. Within a few minutes he was in the car and is now firmly ensconsed in my Mum’s Naphill home, being spoiled rotten and making the place his own.

Fred

Thanks again to everyone at the Thames Valley Animal Welfare for letting us have Fred. If you’ve got a space in your house for a cat please get in touch with the TVAW (01494 484527/01189 721871) as they’ve got loads of lovely cats looking for good homes. I also want to mention the Cat's Protection League who gave us our cat the esteemed Carmen-Electra (Ellie to her friends).

Ellie

Welcome to our family Fred, you’ve really landed on your feet.

Fred

7 Tips to Revive Your Garden

2010-03-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

Our gardens can soon start to look tired and neglected, especially when you've got children or dogs running around outside. Here are some tips for how to quickly and cheaply revive your garden.

1. Sort out the lawn: nothing looks more depressing than a neglected lawn. As soon as the lawn’s dry enough mow it, rake out all the dead matter and aerate it with a fork or hollow tine aerator. Apply some weed and feed, tidy up the edges, and sprinkle on some grass seed if you’ve got bare patches. Your garden will look better and if your lawn is small it’ll only take you an afternoon.

2. Paint the fences: a fresh coat of paint will immediately cheer up your garden. I always paint fences black. Don’t be afraid of dark colours they don’t work the same in the garden as they do inside the house and plants look great against black.

3. Put in some edgings: I like to have a hard edge around borders and lawns, it helps maintains their intended shape and gives you something to mow up to. If you’ve got dogs or kids running around it stops the lines of the garden becoming blurred and untidy. Mortar in some brick on edge or granite setts to keep the outline of the garden sharp. Use plants to soften the hard edges.

4. Prune overgrown shrubs: most people are afraid to hard prune shrubs, which then get very leggy, outgrow their allotted spaces and generally make the garden look unkempt. With only a few exceptions you can cut back shrubs hard, they might look a bit sad for a few weeks, but they will regenerate quickly and look much better.

5. Cut hedges: boundary hedges should frame the garden and look much better when they’re kept neat and tidy. As with shrubs, if you don’t cut your hedge back at least once a year it will get very untidy. Keeping a hedge trimmed is a simple way of making the garden look cared for. If you haven’t got time, or don’t want to risk getting up a ladder, there are plenty of people in the phone book who will come round and do it for you.

6. Hide compost bins, storage areas and oil tanks: a simple piece of trellis with some evergreen climbers will give you a storage space for anything that has to be in the garden, but you don’t want to look at. Even better, invest in a new shed, paint it black, hang some baskets on it and store clutter out of sight. A new shed also gives you an opportunity to install an extra water butt.

7. Re-lay pathways: if your gravel pathways are full of garden detritus and looking tired give them a facelift. Just removing the old gravel and investing in a few bags of new gravel will make a difference. However, a small investment in some new paving will transform the garden. You can do a half way solution by putting in a brick edge and using some paving slabs with gravel margins. If you’ve got a resident handy-person you can do this yourself - Paving Expert is an excellent source of information for all paving tasks. If not, call in a local landscaper and get them to do it for you.

If you need help cheering up your garden for the summer visit my Web site for telephone contact details or email me linsey@linseysgardens.com.

Changing the Color of Hydrangeas

2010-03-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

The long-lasting blooms of hydrangeas look fabulous in a mixed border. Even when the heads have faded they still look good and are great for flower arranging. Hydrangeas make an excellent flowering hedge. I admit they are a bit uninspiring in winter, but I’m prepared to put up with that because their flamboyant flowers look so gorgeous. I especially love Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ with its huge creamy white heads. I’m a big fan of Hydrangea paniculata – some of the newer forms like ‘Pinky Winky’ and ‘Limelight’ are very interesting.

I’m not keen on pink flowered hydrangeas, if they must be a colour other than white or white with a hint of something else, I prefer them to be blue. How many times have you planted a supposedly blue hydrangea only to have it come out pink? Exactly how annoying is this? The good news is that you can do something about it because the colour of hydrangea flowers is dictated by the type of soil you plant them in. If you have acid soil you will get blue blooms, if your soil is alkaline your hydrangeas will be pink.

Not all hydrangea varieties can change color, those that are naturally white will remain white no matter what type of soil they’re grown in. Only those that are naturally blue or pink can be made to change colour. So, if you want your pink hydrangea to have blue blooms you must increase the acidity of the soil and vice versa.

It is the aluminium in acid soils that makes the hydrangeas blue. Garden centres supply several different products that make hydrangea blooms blue and they all contain aluminium sulphate. Water the plant well, dilute the product as per packet instructions, and then apply the product around the plant. You’ll need to do this regularly throughout the growing season. Mulching the plants with grass clippings or used coffee grounds will also help to reduce the pH level. Don’t use fertilizers containing bonemeal or phosphates. Also be aware that concrete leaches out lime into the soil which raises the pH level, so don’t plant your hydrangeas near concrete paths or foundations.

Lime in the soil stops the plants from absorbing the aluminium. So, adding powdered limestone and wood ash will help make the soil more alkaline and you’ll get pink blooms. Ask at your local garden centre for a fertilizer high in phosphorus as this will also prevent the plant from taking up aluminum.

Having said all this, changing the pH of the soil is not easy and you must continue applying the product around the plants. If you don’t keep on treating the soil the plants will revert to their chosen colour.

First UK Garden Design Expert on The Mulch

2010-02-25T06:24:00.001-08:00

Check out my profile and plant suggestions on US gardening site The Mulch

My journey from IT to garden design

2010-02-18T02:16:00.000-08:00

Check out my profile on The Life Uncommon. It's a Web site for people who have escaped the rat race and are doing something they love.

Front Garden Design

2010-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

A front garden is the public face of a house; it creates the first impression of you and your property to visitors or passers by. Here are some tips on how to design a front garden and give your property that all important kerb appeal.

The main purpose of the front garden is to provide easy access to the house without getting drenched or scratched by prickly plants. However, these days the front garden is often needed for other more practical purposes as well such as wheely bin storage, bike access, car parking, and wheelchair access. To accommodate all these often conflicting requirements and create a great looking garden the key is to keep the design simple. A simple layout with robust planting will look great and not need constant maintenance. Keep the layout simple, avoid using too many different hard landscaping materials – you can create interest with the planting.

Use a straight, wide path that get’s you to the front door without having to navigate shaggy, overgrown plants. The entrance to the house should be obvious, and welcoming. Frame the doorway with some elegant Box topiary – it always looks smart and is easy to keep looking tidy. If you’re going to have a climber over the front door keep it tied back and well pruned to stop it becoming a damp, smelly, prickly obstruction. Don’t include a lawn in a North facing front garden it will not thrive, and if you have a lawn keep it mown – a scruffy lawn ruins an otherwise good garden.

When designing the layout use simple geometric shapes and avoid fussy details – freehand curves work well in large, country garden schemes, but do not translate well into a much smaller front garden. A formal scheme with strong, crisp lines always looks good and is easy to keep tidy. If the scheme looks a bit bland and flat, create interest by including some raised borders. You can also use the planting to create interest, texture, colour and soften the hard edges.

If the front garden is your only outside space and you want to use it for sitting in, consider creating a sunken area which will give you some privacy. A water feature can also add interest in a front garden, but you need to make sure it is in scale and in keeping with the style of the garden. I don’t like the kind of pre-fabricated water features you find in garden centres, and feel that a simple drilled sandstone sphere or a raised brick pool with a steel spout works in most situations.

Having provided a straight path from the gateway to the front door, you may still have a problem with if there is another shorter route into the garden, for example, over a low front wall. Human nature dictates that we will always try and take the shortest route and regular callers like postmen and delivery drivers will soon create an ugly, informal route through your lovely new scheme. Some strategically placed spiky plants, like some ornamental Hollies will help stop this.

Avoid making would-be burglars’ lives easier. High hedges offer ideal cover for anyone wanting to break into your house unobserved. Use movement sensors for lights so that they are activated when someone approaches the house. Secure pots or sculptures by either cementing them in place, attaching them to the house or a ground spike with chains.

When designing front garden lighting, don’t get too carried away and be tempted to over illuminate. Wall-washers either side of the front door create a nice warm welcome, and are much better than security lighting which is unnecessarily bright, can shine directly into people’s eyes and is rather harsh. Add some pathway lighting to for safe nocturnal navigation. You can include some decorative spotlights, but be careful, there’s a fine line between highlighting the garden and creating that airport landing strip effect!

In which I come across a bit poetic.............

2010-01-31T12:47:00.000-08:00

I don’t like the cold weather; I’m a lizard and only really come to life with the sun on my back. However in late January/early February you do get some of the most spectacular, breathtaking nature-related stuff.

I was driving home from my Mum’s house in Buckinghamshire today, back to Evans Towers in Bracknell, Berkshire and I found myself holding my breath as the day drew to a spectacular close. The black, skeletal outlines of trees were backlit by the most amazing apricot sky, shot through with gold, with blue/black clouds like bruises on its face.

I was listening to a fantastic Stu Cox remix of euphoric, uplifting trance which if you were dancing would make you raise your hands in the air, or at least above waist level for the less exhibitionist amongst you. This made the experience even better. For those of you who don’t love spending time rammed in a noisy club with a bunch of friendly, but sweaty strangers you probably won’t get this at all. Don’t worry whatever your favourite soundtrack would work just as well, each to their own.

Ooooh! It’s made me positively poetic.

Planning my 2010 Allotment

2010-01-31T00:59:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to think about the coming growing season and what I want to plant. There are some things that really worked last year veggie-wise, the Rainbow Chard was not only gorgeous to look at it was delicious and easy to grow. I think I'll grow some the the ordinary white stemmed variety this year as it seems to grow taller and last longer into the Winter.

I really miss my Spinach, but in the last couple of years it hasn't done well, in fact this year, I planted loads of seeds and hardly got any leaves to eat. Some of it was pecked off by the pigeons, so I covered the plants with Agralan Enviromesh which sorted that out. But, despite experimenting with different varieties, plants either bolted, or did not germinate, or were weedy and hardly produced any leaves. I read this intersting article and am wondering whether I'm planting it at the wrong time - I'm going to try planting it earlier and later to see if it does any better. It's very galling, some of my fellow allotmenteers have tons of lovely spinach.

I'm delighted to report that every one of my Garlic plants has sprouted. Last year I had a success with one row, but the other did not thrive. The problem with the second row was entirely mine. I was over zealous with my Winter mulch and they did sprout, but subsequently rotted under a thick coat of stable manure. The first row were gorgeous. It's the first time I've planted garlic in the autumn to over-winter and as a result I got proper bulbs with individual cloves. There were so delicious and fragrant - you just can't buy garlic like this, but they were soon used up in curries, and chillies, and mushroom bolognese, and spinach dhal, and walnut rocket pesto, and you get the picture. So, this year, I left no room for failure and planted four different types in two long rows, and if all goes well I'll have a year's supply of different strengths and flavours of garlic for use in cooking next year. Can't wait.

My French beans were not so prolific this year, but I'm sure this is because during the extremely hot weather I wasn't able to get down and water every day. My tomatoes, on the other hand, were fab. The outdoor ones only succumbed to blight at the very last, and I managed to freeze enough to last almost until I grow the next lot. I froze them in different ways. I made batches of tomato sauce (onion, tomatoes, blender) with and without garlic. I normally add some red wine to my tomato sauces, but the flavour of the tomatoes was so intense that I didn't want to interfere with it - I may add a splash of wine when I use the sauce. I simply chopped others into quarters, open froze them on trays and then put them into bags. I use these to just drop into anything that needs a bit of tomatoeiness. Others I sieved for passata, the rest I skinned and chopped.

The Broad Beans last year were not as good as in previous years and I had a dissappointing crop, so I decided to try over-wintering them, it seemed like they were a massive success until it snowed. I was so mad. This is the first time I've got round to over-wintering my Broad Beans and then it goes and snows on them! They look a bit flat and sad, but I've still got hopes for them. I'll also grow some in my greenhouse in pots as soon as the weather warms up a bit. I've gone back to growing trusty old Aquadulce and Red Epicure.

I shall grow Cucumber Burpless as usual - they are tasty and easy to grow. I train them up a trellis and two plants produces more than enough for two people. I will not be growing Gherkins this year - they were a pain and I had hardly any fruit from them at all.

The Vivaldi potatoes were brilliant and I'll definitely grow them again. I always grow Rocket as my first earlies and Juliette as a salad variety. I'll grow Courgette Defender again, but I might try a different yellow variety this year as Parador did not do so well. I'll also be growing the same carrots - Flyaway and Purple Haze as they are both delicious and do well for me. I companion plant them with marigolds which I grow in the greenhouse and this seems to keep off the carrot fly as well as looking really pretty.

I've resolved not to grow either onions or shallots this year as I've had miserable crops in the past, but I'm sure I won't be able to resist the lure of the packets of sets in the garden centre. Any suggestions for improving the size of my crops gratefully received.

Of course, I'll be planting loads of Radishes, Spring Onions, Coriander, Basil, Parsley and salad leaves. The raspberry canes and fruit bushes will get a good dose of fertiliser and some extra mulch. I'm going to totally ignore my Gooseberries this year as a friend has told me they crop better if you don't mulch or feed them Last year and the year before I pruned them correctly, fed them, mulched them and got very dissappointing results. So, I'm going to treat 'em mean, I'll let you know what happens.

I'm sure I've missed something. I need to make a list and finalise my choices. I'll definitely try at least one new thing, but haven't decided what yet. I also need to look at my crop rotation plan - yes, I do have one, it's the only way to remember where things are in order to make sure you don't plant the same crops in the same place each year.

In which I am dragged kicking & screaming into the 21st Century

2010-01-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

I have resisted the inevitable for too long, now I have no choice but to succumb and I’m a total convert. What are you wittering on about now Linsey, I hear you ask? Well, ever since I became a garden designer and stopped being a propeller head clients have been asking me whether I prepare my drawings on CAD. ‘No’, I say proudly, ‘they’re all hand drawn’. People are impressed – there’s a lot of detail, pretty colour, little daintily outlined plants, each paving slab drawn in by hand, lovely! This is all well and good until you get so busy and your design projects get larger and more complex and you find yourself working every day and most evenings in a bid to keep up.

So, finally, after much procrastination, I have invested in super duper, state of the art CAD landscape design package. I have chosen Vectorworks Landmark as it is widely used by garden and landscape designers and there’s loads of support and training available.

I didn't like the look of the graphics when I first looked at Vectorworks. The Master Plan is how I convey the overall concept of the garden to clients. It’s a sales document and communication tool. It helps get the client to buy into my ideas, and making it look attractive is important for helping to convey how the finished garden will look. CAD drawings don’t have that same hand finished look to them which clients seem to like and I wasn’t sure how I would introduce some personality. However, like any piece of software there are degrees of sophistication that can be utilized and having purchased my software and attended my first day’s training I’m absolutely hooked and can’t wait to get cracking.

There are ways of personalizing the drawing and introducing your own style, but I am less concerned now with this aspect of the design process. Its more important that the design of the garden is good and works for the client and their circumstances. But, its easy to get carried away with aesthetics of the plan and invest too much time in prettifying it. The Vectorworks software gives you the ability to create multiple perspective views and walkthroughs which are so invaluable for communicating your vision to the client and giving them a better idea of how the garden will feel and how they will use it when it’s finished. I think this more than compensates for a slight dumbing down of the graphics.

For larger projects it’s hard to believe I ever managed without it. Most landscape design projects will require changes and amendments and even the smallest adjustment can take hours by hand, but is particularly true on a larger scheme. Using the software this can take a matter of minutes. The many construction plans, planting plans, lighting plans, drainage plans and other technical details can be much more quickly prepared with no loss of accuracy. It's also going to be really useful to be able to send plans to architects and engineers by email and being able to import their drawings straight into my software.

As you can tell, I am really excited about my new toy and can’t wait until I produce my first design – as soon as I do I’ll post it. So, thanks to the fabulous Tamsin Slatter and her team including husband Adrian for bearing with me whilst I made up my mind.

Garden Design Bhopal, India

2010-01-23T04:32:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on a really exciting project in Bhopal, India. I'm doing the whole project over the telephone, email and from architects drawings. It's not how I usually work, but it seems to be going well at the moment. I've started a project diary on a great property development Web site - Developadream. Please click on the link and have a look to see how it's going.

A steamy time was had by all ........

2010-01-21T02:02:00.001-08:00

As usual, over the Christmas break I bucked the trend by refusing to sit around watching rubbish TV and eating Quality Street – well apart from Christmas Day on which these are mandatory activities. Instead, I do what I always do (see Christmas Time is Mulching Time) and stood knee deep in my local stables’ muck heap shoveling lovely free manure into bags and ultimately dumping it out onto my allotment. Four van loads of 40 small bags are sufficient to cover my entire allotment and work off any excess food consumed during the seasonal blow out.

The cold, snowy weather made this always enjoyable activity (I know, most people think I’m slightly strange) even more pleasant – most bracing as well as deeply satisfying. The steam coming off the muck heap as we dug down into it really sorted out my blocked sinuses (a hangover from a vicious virus that was refusing to go away). This same steam also caused great amusement to passing walkers, one even stopped and asked if he could take some photos. Ever the opportunist and a shameless self-publicist I said no problem as long as he sent me a copy and whipped out a business card. So, here are a couple of shots of me and my chum Bob hock deep in muck and loving it!

I am already anticipating a bumper crop next year – can’t wait to get digging which is another of my favourite activities.

It may be winter outside

2010-01-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

It may be winter outside, but in my heart it’s spring – so go the lyrics to a Love Unlimited song (written by Barry White, doncha know?) have a listen I guarantee it will cheer you up.

Here in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey we are well and truly snowbound and I hate it! I hadn’t appreciated fully how much time I spend outside all year round. However, I’m not just sitting inside feeling glum (although there is a bit of that) I’m having a good old think about what I want to do in my garden this year. It doesn’t matter at what stage of development your garden is, there is always some small tweak that can make it better, or something that isn’t quite working and needs sorting out. A garden is not a static thing – even an inside room will need maintenance, so a garden which lives and breathes will need occasional adjustment and additions to keep it looking gorgeous.

If you’re going to make changes in your garden now is a great time to get your thoughts together. If you’re going to consult a landscape designer start doing your research and considering how you want to use the garden. Think about what things you need to make the best use of your garden. Get ideas from books, magazines and the internet to find out what you like in terms of aesthetics, style, planting. Decide how you want the garden to feel – is it to be a cool, urban retreat for partying with friends, or a relaxed country garden with space for wildlife, or a place to indulge your gardening hobby. Do you need to think about elderly or disabled visitors? Whatever you want in the garden make sure you plan it and consider whether it meets your needs before you ask anyone to put a shovel in the ground.

For those of you who, because of the state of the housing market/economy, have stayed put in a house that you were planning to sell don’t be afraid to make improvements to the garden. Whatever money you spend will be a good investment – my estate agent friends tell me that a good garden always helps sell a property and you will get your investment back when you sell. In the meantime you can enjoy the garden yourself – a true win/win situation.

Best Water Feature Ever!

2010-01-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

Whilst on holiday in Tenerife in November 2008 I drove to Guia de Isadora, a very pretty small town. I was nosing over a garden wall and spotted something intriguing and kicked myself for forgetting my camera. I went back again this year, made the perilous drive back to Guia de Isodora and took this photograph.

When I first saw this I wasn't entirely sure what it was, although it was clearly a water feature. It was my eagle eyed partner, Spencer, who identified it. Tenerife is a volcanic island and its volcano Mount Teide is still active. This water feature is, in fact, a scale model of Mount Teide, when switched on water comes out of the top of the volcano - genius! Maybe not, but amusing anyway.

Garden & Landscape Lighting Design

2010-01-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Let’s face it we have a lot of dark, miserable days in this country, and for a good percentage of its life your beautiful garden in which you’ve invested considerable time and money is invisible. Not only can you not use it, you can’t even see it. The solution is to make a feature of the garden by night using dramatic lighting effects that are actually quite simple to achieve.

Garden and landscape lighting is often overlooked or ends up being just the bland wash of a security floodlight and maybe some ugly, low-level spreadlights illuminating paths. That’s because garden lighting, like anything else in the garden needs to be planned if it is to succeed on anything other than a purely functional level.

You can change the entire feeling of the garden by night simply by uplighting some key architectural plants, a sculpture, or a water feature. You can even create different effects depending on your mood or the occasion – an intimate dinner, or a lively party. Instead of looking at the rain on the window, you can look out on a dramatic scene with depth and emphasis created by lighting.

Walk around your garden, look out of upstairs and downstairs windows and take account of the focal points and viewpoints. Viewpoints are places from which the garden is viewed. Focal points are those things that are important within the view. Then decide which of the focal points is most important (primary focal point) and those that are less so (secondary focal point). Light the primary focal point more brightly than the secondary focal points, which ensures attention is directed to the most important features in the view. Washing surrounding planting and hedges with a lower level of lighting than that the more brightly lit features create a backdrop for the focal points.

Security lighting does not have to be bland, doorways can be lit by downlights that graze brickwork and create a warm, inviting entrance. Instead of using spreadlights to illuminate paths, washing the adjacent planting or hedge with light will provide a more subtle effect which is quite sufficient for safe navigation. Where security lights are essential, for example, to access the garage, these can be put onto a timer with a movement sensor so that they are only on when absolutely necessary. Modern movement sensors can be adjusted so that they are not triggered by nocturnal animals.

Consider what you will want to do where in the garden and put in extra lights to accommodate these tasks, for example, getting to the shed, cooking or eating. Then have more than one circuit so that you can switch on the extra lights when needed.

You can use concealed, spike mounted spotlights to create some really interesting effects in your garden, transforming it into a dramatic night time space. Try downlighting, uplighting, shadowing, grazing for emphasising texture, washing to draw attention to colour, crosslighting to change how a sculpture is viewed, and moonlighting down through trees to create dappled effects. I like to downlight pergola posts as it throws light onto the flowers of climbing plants and creates pools of lights at the base of the posts which provides a lovely gentle light for a summer al fresco meal.

Lighting for Gardens has a wide range of different lighting products with variation in strength of light and beam angles. LED lighting is improving rapidly, it is much cheaper to run than mains voltage lighting and does not require transformers (which can be ugly and expensive) like low-voltage. Unfortunately, I have yet to find any low cost LED fittings that I like the look of, so I only use them when they can be concealed.

If you’d like any help planning your garden or landscape lighting scheme please get in touch.

Gorgeous Stone Pots

2009-12-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

Love these gorgeous pots.

Victorian Front Garden Design

2009-12-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I get a lot of hits on my Web site from people searching for information on Victorian front gardens. So here are some thoughts on designing a Victorian front garden.

At first sight it looks simple. The spaces are mostly small and so the formula is the same every time isn’t it? Well, on the surface, yes, but each garden is different. No matter how small the garden there’s always room for error and in small spaces precision is particularly important. Even the smallest garden can have strange quirks that don’t become apparent until you’ve carefully measured and drawn them up. It doesn’t matter if the garden is only a few square metres I always do a plan.

The front garden gives a vital first impression of the rest of the house; the detail and quality of the finishes are exposed to extra scrutiny because the garden is on constant public display. Particular attention is needed to get the important features, such as the tiled pathway, railings and gate absolutely right.

Laying a Victorian tiled pathway is not the same as laying normal paving slabs. You must source the tiles from a good quality supplier and get a specialist to lay them – there are contractors who specialize in laying Victorian mosaic tiles. The pathway is an important part of recreating the authentic Victorian look, so choose your pattern with care. Don’t copy exactly other gardens in your street; a little individuality will differentiate your house from its neighbours. Choose a different colour scheme or pattern and your house will stand out from the rest whilst still adhering to the Victorian aesthetic.

The railings are usually the most expensive part of the garden. If you can’t afford cast iron you can compromise and have the railings (bars) made up in mild steel, but source a really unusual finial (head) from the extensive catalogue at James Hoyle - they also have a massive range of urns which can be used on intermediate posts or gate posts. There are loads of companies who will weld and assemble and install the railings once you’ve chosen your bars, heads and urns.

Most Victorian houses only have enough space in their front gardens for a couple of pots and a standard tree. If you have a larger front garden and are going to include a bit more planting then keep it simple, for example, clipped topiary, box edging, standard evergreen trees, Lavender and Santolina for an easily maintained classic look. Don’t confuse the smart Victorian town house front garden with the Victorian cottage garden.

If you are re-building perimeter walls remember they are supporting your gorgeous new bespoke railings and shoddy brickwork and cheap bricks will ruin the finished garden. So, get a good contractor who can show you a portfolio of projects including brick walls and choose a good quality brick that matches the house brick. It is not necessary to go to the expense of using re-claimed bricks, although they do look fabulous, there are some really good copies – get a sample and look at it next to the house brick in daylight. The ratio of walls to railings that I think works best is around one third wall to two thirds railings – so, if your wall is 45cm high the railings should be 90cm high. Just scale this up or down if you want a higher finished height, although be careful not to make the walls and railings too high in a small garden or it will look out of scale with the house.

If the York stone threshold is being replaced it’s worth the extra expense of sourcing a piece of reclaimed York stone – it’s the small details like this that will really make the finished garden. The paving used for the rest of the garden is a matter of personal choice, but I’ve found that a dark slab such a black Slate, black Limestone, or black Basalt works best.

I will be completing the construction of another Victorian front garden in Chiswick, London early next year, so keep an eye on my Web site for the pictures.

Winter Planting Inspiration

2009-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for some inspiration for winter planting, Dunham Massey in Cheshire is the largest winter garden in the UK. It's seven acres of gardens contain almot 700 plant varieties that will create interest from autumn until spring.

Hellebores

2009-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already done this remove the old leaves of your Hellebores. Why would I want to do this, I hear you ask. Well, last year's leaves will start looking really tatty next year if they haven't already and will eventually die off leaving a nasty mess at the base of the plant. Hellebores can also get a fungal infection which shows as a black spot on the leaf and if you don't get rid of the infected foliage it can damage the whole plant. Also, if there is a thick canopy of old leaves you cannot see the new flowerheads. The plant will look a bit bald for a while, but you will be able to see and appreciate fully the flower buds as they emerge and open usually just after Christmas. You'll soon get a new crop of glossy, healthy leaves.

Hellebores, Epimedium, Brunnera and Euphorbia in my garden Spring 2009

Whale art - yes, really!

2009-11-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

I loved the Cow Parade concept - life size fibreglass cows painted by artists and architects and exhibited around cities as art. Each one was different and they are now being sold for thousands of pounds.

As I may have mentioned we've just returned from our holiday in Tenerife and the Loro Parque Foundation has adapted the cows as art concept for fundraising, resulting in these lovely decorated fibreglass whales. They are currently on display in Tenerife airport. I want one!

News flash - garden designer is fair weather gardener!

2009-11-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

This horrible, wet weather is keeping me out of the garden at the moment and there's loads of tidying up to do - I hate looking out at it, it's depressing. I did manage to make a quick trip to the allotment over the weekend, my first since getting back from sunny Tenerife. I really went to pick the last of my Borlotti beans, which I make into a lovely warm salad with Avocado, sliced mushrooms (raw), soft goat's cheese and a simple lemon juice and Olive oil dressing - it's delicious. However, I was happy to see that my Broad Beans, planted a little earlier than specified in late October, are three inches high, and virtually all my garlic has come up.

I've never managed to get organised enough to plant crops that like to overwinter, although I did do garlic last year and found that I hadn't planted enough - we eat a lot of it and so this year I did about four times as much. I also had a horrible disappointment this year with my Broad Beans which I absolutely love, so I planted some in October to see what would happen. It's really great to see something happening on the plot at this time of year. I'll still do my Broad Beans in spring as well, but this means I'll have some to freeze as well - hopefully!

Holiday at last ............

2009-11-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

I’m delighted to report that although we’re in the midst of a massive recession I’ve had an amazing year for business – I think, my best to date. Although this is gratifying, it’s also worn me out so I headed off wearily on my annual pilgrimage to Tenerife. I got back a couple of days ago and I must say it didn’t disappoint.

I know Tenerife has a horrid reputation for cheap package holidays and all the tackiness that goes with them. There is that side to it, of course. However, judging Tenerife by what goes on in Playa de Las Americas is like coming here and only visiting Scunthorpe (haha, I’m allowed to say that as my other half is from there) and thinking that it represents the whole of the UK.

I love Tenerife and here’s why. It’s got great weather (I hate the cold) and you don’t have to travel far or pay a fortune to get some of this even during the Winter. It’s got some gorgeous scenery, although driving to see it can be terrifying. There’s enough to do, combined with a bit of general relaxing in the sunshine to easily fill up two weeks. Where we stay in Los Christianos if you're selective there are some really nice restaurants.

However, as a garden designer it’s the indigenous flora that interests me most. There is the obligatory effervescence of Bougainvillea, cascading in great clashing clumps over every vertical surface. I probably don’t even need to mention the ubiquitous feathery plumes of Phoenix Canariensis, one of many species of palm that grow in Tenerife. There are plants that we grow in the UK such as Hibiscus and some really unusual species of Euphorbia. I’m always delighted to see plants which we can only grow indoors such as Monstrera (cheese plants), Draceana, Ficus benjamina and Strelizia (Bird of Paradise plant) flourish in the perfect climate. I love Plumbago and it’s a real treat to see it running wild and adding its subtle sky blue blossoms to the gaudy palette. There are huge cacti and loads of interesting succulents perfectly suited to the hot, arid conditions of the South of the island.

Here’s a few images:-

Washingtonia Robusta

Phoenix dactilifera, Yucca, Phoenix Canariensis

Topiary Tenerife style

Bougainvillea

Acalypha, Yucca & Phoenix Canariensis

Sculpture

2009-09-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Have a look at these amazing modern sculptures - I particularly love this one.

Autumn Colour

2009-09-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not keen on the end of summer. I love the hot weather and hate the thought that I'll have to wait ages until it starts to warm up again. The start of September always makes me feel like it's all downhill from now until next March, a relentless round of leaf collection and disposal, cutting down sludgy, dead plants and pressure washing slimy paving slabs. The gorgeous, blowsy colour of late spring and summer is so sublime that I always get a bit down in the dumps. But there's always something to look at in a well planned garden and the herbaceous planting in my front garden continues to please me. Here's a photo of Cimcifuga (Actea), Aster frikartii 'Monch', Sedum spectabile 'Brilliant', Helenium 'Wyndley', Echinops 'Veitch's Blue', and Echinacea purpurea blooming their heads off outside my front door.

Nate Frizzell

2009-09-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

When I was training to be a garden designer I was advised to keep my 'visual vocabulary' honed by looking at the work of artists, architects and designers in other fields. It's great advice, but I don't always get the time to visit galleries, walk around looking at gorgeous building, and read magazines, let alone go out and find new, interesting artists. Fortunately for me my partner, Spencer, is very interested in contemporary art and design and has unearthed several really interesting artists - see my previous post about Tessar Lo.

Nate Frizzell is another amazing young artist that Spencer and I really love. Have a look at the creation of this amazing painting Nest, a print of which is hanging on our wall as I write - see image below.

Also, take a look at his transformation of a recycling bin into a piece of art.

Spencer and Linsey's copy of Nest

Henley Show

2009-09-13T01:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to Henley Show, it's one of my favourite things to do all year. I'm not a big fan of large, county-type shows where you can't move for other people bustling you out of the way and pushy sellers harassing you for business - I do empathise, but really give a girl some space! However, I love Henley show, its small, but big enough to potter around for a few hours. The weather is always gorgeous - I've been going for years now and have never got wet (OK, once, but right at the very end as we were leaving). Yesterday was no exception, it was one of the nicest days of the recent, so called summer.

I always go and talk to the Llamas, of course, see my previous post about Llama trekking. They didn't disappoint - I had a good chat with Rupert and he was happy to be stroked and generally interfered with. I love seeing all the different types of livestock - the cattle are always amazing, so gentle and some of them so huge! We also talked to the goats, ducks and chickens, although I must complain about a shortage of pigs - I love pigs. The problem is it just makes me want to sell up, buy a smallholding somewhere remote and knit my own underwear (or whatever)!

I really miss having my own horses, so I spent plenty of time watching the various horse classes and being amazed at their willingness to comply with our bidding - 'You want me to jump over that massive coloured construction? OK, then!'.

I loved every minute. It made me forget about work, which has been manic all year and shows no sign of abating (not that I'm complaining, you understand), and just simply relax and enjoy myself doing nothing in particular. It's a very necessary thing to do if, like me, you're a bit of a worrier and find it impossible to switch off.

Here are some photos that I took on my way round:-

Rupert Llama

Who'd have thought there were so many different types of chicken??

Judging the poultry

Friendly cows

Vintage cars

Pygmy goat

Gorgeous Suffolk Punch

Produce tent - yummy!

Garden Opening Party

2009-09-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

I was invited by my clients Patrick and Linda to the official opening of their garden in Crowthorne - it's actually not quite finished yet, but any excuse to down a few bottles of excellent red wine and some delicious food. So, thanks Linda and Pat for the invite. I've loved working on this garden which I designed quite some time ago. It's been a long time in the development stage, but is finally complete apart from a bit more planting.

I'll be putting up the before and after shots on my Web site very soon. In the meantime, here are some photos from the party.

Formal Area

Deck with arbour, firepit and architectural planting

Stream

Herbaceous planting - it'll look much better next year......

Patio with guests

Path from deck to rear garden with view of stream

Linda & Pat - thanks you two!

Client's with a sense of humour - whatever next!

2009-09-05T04:28:00.000-07:00

I've just secured a fab new client with an acre of garden to design in Winkfield Row - lovely! When I first meet a new client my main aim is to try and understand how they want to use their garden, what style they're looking for, how they want to garden to feel. I ask them loads of questions and one I always ask is what would you absolutely hate to see in your garden. This client gave me the best answer to the question I've ever received - 'my ex-wife'!

I think we're going to get on very well .......

Favourite Roses

2009-08-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Rosa 'Graham Thomas' has just been voted the world's favourite rose at the 2009 Wold Rose Convention in Vancouver. It is beautiful.

I am not especially fond of roses grown as shrubs, although a hedge of shrub roses such as Rosa 'Hyde Hall' can look stunning. What I really hate are those dreary rose gardens where badly pruned, disease riddled, sad looking specimens are grown alone without the interest of other surrounding plants. Horrid!

However, I am very fond of climbing roses. Trained over an arch or pergola, grown up trellis, and, of course, around a front door they look fabulous. Roses can be combined with other climbing plants so that when they're not flowering you still get colour and scent.

I recently constructed a pergola in my mother's garden, with the help of my brother and his hard-working kids - my newphews and niece. I planted it up with a mixture of climbers, but my Mum loves roses, so we planted a different one on each pergola post. This was the first time I'd used Graham Thomas and it has been amazing - by far the most flowers of all the others in its first season, and a really pretty yellow. I also used some of my other favourite climbing roses, all David Austen:-

Falstaff - a blowsy, double deep, rich red with an amazing fragrance.
Crown Princess Margarets - double flowered, apricot orange, very fragrant.
A Shopshire Lad - peachy pink, very scented.
Iceberg - white climber with a light scent.

George Pelecanos

2009-08-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

I first read a George Pelecanos novel on holiday in Italy in 2000. It was the second book in the 'Washington Quartet' series and I absolutely loved it. I have since read everything he's written. Each year I save up his most recently published novel and read it on holiday.

So, I've been a Pelecanos devotee for almost a decade and am rather peeved that everyone else seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. Geoerge Pelecanos has suddenly become part of the zeitgeist. He was a co-writer and producer of several episodes of cult TV show The Wire - which I also loved and watched from its first screening. Now, even President Obama's getting in the act.

Read the Washington Quartet which starts with The Big Blowdown and continues with King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever and Shame the Devil. They're amazing. You'll be totally hooked.

A day in the life of a garden designer

2009-08-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

I love being a garden designer. ‘Why’s that, Linsey?’ I hear you ask. Well, today I spent most of my time collecting plants from a wholesale nursery – what’s not to love? For those of you not familiar with such an establishment, wholesale nurseries are where us garden designers and other garden trade types get our plants. I’m never happier than when I’m mooching around a nursery looking at plants. I use several wholesalers, but today I was at North Hill in Chobham, it’s just a brilliant, Aladdin’s cave of a place.

Wholesale nurseries are not open to the general public and are rather less tidy and organised than a garden centre - definitely no frills. Some of the plants are not looking their best, not all the plants are labelled – you really need to know what you are looking for and at. Part of the fun and interest for me is in finding new plants, or chancing upon a combination that would never have suggested itself naturally.

I really enjoy chatting to the knowledgeable plantsmen and women who run and staff the nurseries. John and Rob at North Hill are a mine of useful information and always good for a bit of banter.

After loading up, I delivered the plants to site and set them out ready for planting. So, my day was pretty perfect – even the weather was great. I probably don't need to point out that it beats sitting in an office.

Here are some shots of the nursery.

John doing a little dance for the camera

Rob pricing my plants

Not sure how I'm going to fit them all in my van.......

Sustainable Oak Fencing

2009-08-24T10:45:00.001-07:00

If you're looking for something different to the bog standard trellis or fencing panels check out this sustainable Oak fencing by Quercus. It's really beautiful, adds an extra texure to the garden, can be made to measure and is environmentally friendly.

Gardening Courses at Barnsdale

2009-08-24T10:40:00.001-07:00

Want to learn a bit more about gardening? Always wanted to know how to build a wall or lay a patio? Check out the gardening courses being held at Geoff Hamilton's famous garden at Barnsdale.

Future Gardens

2009-08-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

Need some inspiration, or just want a day out? Visit the Future Gardens display at Butterfly World in St Albans.

Spring Flowering Bulbs

2009-08-17T03:59:00.000-07:00

My thoughts are turning to bulbs – now is the time to order and get planting. I always include winter and spring flowering bulbs in my planting schemes. It’s a great way of ensuring some interest and colour early in the year, as well as adding some extra structure to a scheme.

The earliest are, of course, snowdrops and there are so many great varieties, even doubles – the best way is to buy them as plants ‘in the green’ at the end of the season, but I’ve had plenty of luck planting bulbs. I always include some Anemone blanda, also known as Windflowers – they have delicate cut foliage and beautiful flowers from white, through pale pink to bright blues – try planting around the base of an ornamental tree. Crocus is another gorgeous early flowering bulb that can bring a swathe of colour into the garden. However, be warned the squirrels find them delicious and usually dig all of them up in my garden! Any Crocus not eaten by the squirrels are usually pecked off by the birds – they seem to love the white and yellow flowering ones.

Tulips look great in a border. I keep away from the bright, municipal colours like reds and yellows – although it’s purely a matter of taste. I like to plant Queen of the Night which is a very deep, almost black purple, then upwards through the purple colour spectrum through to pale sugar pink. Negrita is a lovely deep mauve as is Purple Prince. Shirley and Douglas Bader are both good for the pink end of the spectrum.

Make sure you include some alliums, their architectural domes are a must in the late spring garden. I like Allium ‘Purple Sensation’.

I’m not keen on daffodils in borders – their foliage leaves the border looking scruffy for ages after the flowers are gone. All the other bulbs mentioned will disappear into the border until they come up again the following season, and any residual foliage is covered quickly by emerging plants. I like to plant daffodils in pots – I have dozens of pots of them that I hide during the summer and bring out again, always adding a couple more pots each year, when they are poking their heads above the soil.

Have a look at these sites Gee Tee
and J Parker for a great range of spring flowering bulbs.

Blue Parrot Tulips

My Garden - Bracknell, Berkshire

2009-08-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

I awarded myself a day off today, well, sort of. I have been designing a garden for clients in Silchester, Berkshire and it’s going well. Rather too well, in fact. So, I decided to take a break and come back to it tomorrow just in case I’m missing something obvious.

I did a little light plant shopping in Chobham, Surrey, ostensibly, for my Crowthorne client, but whilst I was there I couldn’t resist this rather pretty Buddleja ‘Apollo Blue’. Now, I’m a bit ambivalent about Buddleja – when they are, as is often the case, not correctly pruned and deadheaded they look hideous, but when looked after properly and smothered in butterflies they look gorgeous. I have a problem place by my shed at the top of the garden under a tree, so I thought it might brighten up the space as well as encouraging more insects into the garden.

The benefits of a bit of pottering in the garden cannot be overstated. Because I had given myself a bit of time to tidy up and generally mooch around, I spotted this sweet little white Cyclamen growing amongst Euphorbia Robbiae. I don’t actually remember planting it – I am suspicious that the squirrels have moved it from elsewhere in the garden. Anyway, it looks really pretty.

Something else giving me great pleasure in the garden at the moment is this Aster frikartii ‘Monch’. Also growing in a slightly tricky place where nothing else seemed happy. I planted it in the spring hoping to plug a gap in the border at the front garden and it’s repaid me handsomely.

Alfresco dining

2009-08-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

It looks as though we’re going to have some nice weather this weekend and I, for one, will be spending as much time outside as possible. I especially like to cook and eat outside - I find it very relaxing, just like being on holiday.

With all the doom and gloom about the weather it’s easy to believe that the summer’s over, but don’t despair, we often get a gorgeous Indian summer – remember last year, it was amazing right up to the end of October. Plenty of time to get out and enjoy your garden

I’ve built two seating areas in my garden and both are sheltered enough to eat outside even when it’s not blazing sunshine. You may have to put on an extra sweater, but it’s always worth it. The secret is to create areas that protect you from the elements, but are also private so that you’re not overlooked and can feel psychologically relaxed.

I use pergolas, screens of round posts combined with tall grasses, hedges, and walls. If you create a structure over your seating area, such as a pergola, you can have a detachable canvas cover that enables you to sit out even if it’s raining. Shade sails look great and can be taken down when you’re not using them. A simple awning attached to the house will also work. If you have the budget you can build walls and combine with wooden structures to create interesting outdoor rooms within your garden. The possibilities are endless.

Add some fairy lights snaking up the pergola, into the planting, into the canopy of a parasol, or underneath your canvas awning and you can create a magical outdoor dining space – you’ll never want to eat inside again.

Seating area at the top of my garden with radial pergola and mosaic paving.

Golden Marjoram a magnet for bees and butterflies

2009-07-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

I've allowed my golden Marjoram to flower and not only does it look pretty but its alive with bees, butterflies, hover flies and other beneficial insects. I cut off some of the flower spikes so that I've got a fresh supply of leaves to use in cooking, but leave the rest of the flowers on. I grow a lot of a couple of golden Marjoram plants as it looks great in the borders, the flowers are pretty and its good for putting in all sorts of dishes. I love the fact that it's also so popular with wildlife.

World's Top Ten Ugly Plants

2009-07-25T01:32:00.000-07:00

Actually I really like some of them Birthworts and Monkey Cups are excellent - see what you think.

Don't visit Sissinghurst?

2009-07-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is quite interesting Sissinghurst

My Plot Runneth Over

2009-07-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Every year I forget what a fruitful season this is. I visited my allotment today for the first time in a week and it’s gone completely mental.

I learnt my lesson in my first year of allotmenting (I might have just made this word up) that one or two courgette plants are plenty for two people, even if you like courgettes a lot. So I have grown one yellow and one green plant. Even so the Bracknell Courgette Mountain is beginning to re-establish itself – it first emerged the first year I had my plot when I grew four plants which resulted in a legendary courgette glut and many, many jars of courgette pickle.

One of my best successes has been the Rainbow Chard which I grew for the first time this year. Not only does it look pretty – I’m a big fan of this, and grow four different types of beans black (Blauhilde), yellow (Goldfield), Green (Cobra), and stripey (Borlotti) which not only taste great but look gorgeous – but it’s totally delicious. The pigeons and slugs seem to leave it alone and it seems to do better and taste at least as good as Spinach which I love. I put in two 1.5m long rows which I’ve been picking since April and it’s still going strong.

I picked some beetroot and am going to make a Goat’s Cheese and Beetroot tart which I found in the Guardian weekend magazine - sounds yummy! I’ve also taken to roasting my beetroot – it is a bit of a fiddle because you have to individually foil wrap them and roast them for two hours, but it preserves more of the goodness and flavour than boiling or steaming – very tasty.

Tropical Colour

2009-07-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

If you fancy adding a bit of low-maintenance colour to your garden try some Hemerocallis. They are easy to grow, flower from late June onwards and are perfect for creating a tropical look when teamed with palms, grasses, bananas and bamboos. Available in a wide range of colours from white, bright oranges and yellows, pinks, through to divine deep purples. You can get some with frilly, picotee edges that are particularly interesting. They don't seem to suffer from the dreaded Lily Beetle and will multiply year on year. They only flower for one day, hence their common name - Day Lily, but when on day's flowers have gone there are plenty to replace them the following day.

Here is Hemerocallis 'Destined to See' flowering in my garden.

Llama Trekking

2009-07-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

People choose to celebrate their birthdays in various ways, and this year I’ve chosen something totally different. My ongoing birthday festivities have been complex and self-indulgent, but the highlight was a day spent Llama trekking in Northamptonshire.

I dragged along my trusty friends Alex and Catherine and, of course, my partner Spencer (actually he organised it) and we set off for the Northamptonshire countryside. We arrived at Catanga Farm, were given a talk on Llamas and told how to handle them. We then set off on a 2 hour hike around the beautiful countryside leading our Llamas. If you’ve never encountered a Llama you should immediately book a trek. It was completely brilliant. I know it sounds a bit strange, but if you don’t know anything else about me you should know that I love Llamas – they are beautiful, gentle creatures. They are a little shy and not quite as sociable or huggable as horses and donkeys, but once you get used to their idiosyncratic ways I guarantee you’ll be hooked.

After the trek we had a tour of the centre, and got to speak to some more Llamas including some very cute baby Llamas. We polished off our day with a Champagne picnic surrounded by fields of Llamas –perfect!

My gorgeous Llama 'Felix'

Me and Felix

So gorgeous I had to post his photo again....

Another cute Llama

Resting Llama

Baby Llama

Contemporary Art

2009-06-27T00:20:00.000-07:00

My partner (Spencer) discovered the work of artist Tessar Lo 18 months ago. He comissioned a gorgeous piece of art from Tessar and we now have several other pieces of his work in the house. Check out his Web site.

Case Study - Large Garden in Surrey - Update 8

2009-06-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

The left-hand side of the garden is now complete apart from the planting – one of the terraced borders is planted and there’s a new Bay hedge along the top boundary, but we’re leaving the rest until the Autumn. The sunken garden is almost complete apart from its turf. The old pergola has been extended and given a coat of black paint and is awaiting its new climbers. The lower patio is laid and the lawn has been dug over and is receiving a top dressing of sand and topsoil.

Work has started on the right-hand side terracing. The structural wall was already in place, and now the blockwork has gone up to create the various levels and steps. The new front wall has been constructed and is just waiting for its gates and railings. The timber retaining wall for the raised borders is also being constructed.

All that remains is to complete the rear garden right-hand side blockwork, then clad and pave the terraces; build the decked terrace from the summer house; lay the driveway paving; install railings to front and rear gardens; construct the raised beds bordering the road; planting and then, inevitably, snagging. I say ‘all’, there is still at least two months work to be done.

Pesky Pigeons

2009-06-24T12:39:00.001-07:00

The allotment is looking great and bearing a selection of fabulous fresh fruit and veg. However, on visiting to do some tidying up over the weekend I was greeted by six fat pigeons taking flight from in and around my plot. Not content with scoffing my spinach, rocket, and salad leaves those thieving avian rodents have stripped one of my blackcurrant bushes and started on the redcurrants. If I had a gun and it was permissible to shoot them I would do so – I can think of any number of delicious ways to enjoy pigeons, perhaps with a blackcurrant sauce!?

I have now netted round the fruit bushes and covered all my brassicas and lettuces with Agralan enviromesh which is excellent for protecting plants from all sorts of pests including airbone ones.

Relaxing in the garden - part 2

2009-06-13T06:39:00.001-07:00

I'm not good at sitting around doing nothing, especially when there's allotments to weed, climbers to tie in, perennials to stake, borders to weed, and so on .......... Now don't get me wrong I enjoy doing all of these things (yes, really), but sometimes I need to be told. This week I was struck down by some hideous virus and have been forced to take it easy. So, here's me and my cat, Ellie, relaxing under the umberella with the scent of Rosa 'Rambling Rector' filling the air, reading Dennis Lehane (only me, not Ellie, its Pelecanos or nothing for her) and getting in the mood to go out to dinner with some friends this evening - doesn't get much better.

Enjoy the weekend.

Linsey

Relaxing in the garden

2009-06-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of my fiercest critic showing her appreciation of the new garden layout. Her majesty clearly approves of the new black Limestone paving, and doesn't seem to mind that the retaining wall is still waiting for its final coat of render.

Allotment Update

2009-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the weather is horrid, but the allotment is thriving. I’m picking chard, spinach, radishes, beetroot, lettuce and mangetout. My cucumbers and gherkins are sulking; I’m afraid that I was encouraged by some mild weather a few weeks ago and planted them out too early. I’m hoping that they survive and start to shoot upwards when the weather starts getting a bit warmer – note my optimistic use of the word ‘when’. Last year I had so many cucumbers I managed to make several pots of cucumber pickle, this year I’ll probably be lucky to get a couple of salads, oh well………

On a more positive note, my tomatoes are doing splendidly. After two disastrous years with blight wiping out my entire crop, I’ve rather over compensated. I’ve got six plants inside the greenhouse, three plants in a sunny spot outside the greenhouse and nine plants on the allotment. I love home grown tomatoes and felt very cheated to have hardly any in the previous two years, so I’m not taking any chances! I like to freeze some so that I can chuck them into sauces, and with roasted veg. In the depths of winter when everything is starting to taste like cardboard nothing perks up cooking like some tart, home-grown tomatoes. It would also be nice to have some to give away – you’re always popular if you turn up to people’s houses with a bag full of fresh tomatoes.

My broad beans are a bit late this year, not sure why. I raised the plants in my greenhouse, as usual, and then planted them out when they were about 20cm high. It took them ages to get going outside – maybe the fluctuating weather again, not sure. I grew a different variety this year (can’t remember offhand which one, but I usually plant Aquadulce and a red one), so maybe it’s not living up to its hype. Now, they’re looking a bit more promising, and I think I’ll be picking them in the next couple of weeks. My fellow allotmenters (I might have made that word up, but you know what I mean) who put their broad beans straight into the ground over the winter are already harvesting, which is slightly galling, but inevitable.

I can’t overwinter any of my crops as my plot is infested with Horsetail, Mare’s Tail, Witches Broom, call it what you will it is evil, evil, evil! Unless I leave my plot fallow for several years and carry out a rigorous spraying regime, I will never get rid of it. So, I just dig the whole plot very deeply every year (keeps me fit) to minimise its impact. Still, every time I see one of its pernicious little shoots poking through the surface I’m filled with rage and a feeling of helplessness. It doesn’t seem to affect the crops, but it offends my sense of aesthetics – I like my plot to be productive and attractive!!

I'll go and take some photos at the weekend.

Some really sweet Goslings in Wokingham

2009-06-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

On my way to the pet shop to buy some straw for underneath my strawberries – stops the fruit rotting and bruising on the ground as it ripens, I’m guessing everyone knows that’s why they’re called strawberries – encountered Mr & Mrs Goose having a stroll with their babies. All traffic at a standstill whilst they took the time to amble across the road looking as though they owned it! I took one picture as they hit the verge, then on my way back snapped some more of them just grazing on the verge. How cute are they!?

Sunningdale Golf Club

2009-06-08T04:34:00.000-07:00

I don’t often get my hands dirty these days; Lisa does an amazing job on planting and maintenance which I don’t really have time for. However, I got a call from one of my regular clients, Sunningdale Golf Club, last week saying that they needed some planting repaired at the front of the Club House in time for a competition on Monday. As Lisa is away on holiday, I had to juggle my diary, pull on my gloves and step up to the plate.

This was no real hardship, I love being at Sunningdale Golf Club, it is a beautiful place, I find it tranquil and relaxing. I can honestly say it was a thoroughly soothing experience, chatting with members and doing a little light planting to remind myself how simple life can be if you allow yourself to relax occasionally. I also always plant the four large pots that sit at the entrance to the club house. I choose a hot June morning and stuff the stone urns with pretty pastel bedding plants, so unlike anything else I’d ever design, but so fitting for this place. When I’ve spent the day there I always feel strangely restored. The charming Arts & Crafts club house provides an echo of elegant times past, and the golf course itself is immaculate. It’s a sort of microcosm where the credit crunch and all the other nasty things going on in the World do not exist – a bit of escapism is fine from time to time. I sometimes sit on the Wisteria covered terrace and have a cup of coffee whilst watching members practice on the beautifully manicured putting green which is flanked by a fabulously overstuffed herbaceous border designed by my good self. I usually do one project a year for the Club, mostly planting design, with the occasional piece of hard landscape design. I always look forward to getting my annual brief from the club – it’s one of my favourite parts of the garden designing year.

Climbing Plants

2009-05-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you’ve got limited space and want some extra planting, have a piece of fence you’d like to cover, or a pergola that needs some interest and colour, then what you need is some climbers.

In smaller gardens you can add extra planting simply by putting up a bit of trellis and planting some climbing plants. It’s one of my favourite ways to add colour and texture to a garden without letting yourself in for loads of extra work. Also, climbers grow much quicker than shrubs, so will cover a fence, trellis, or pergola in a couple of years – some of the more vigorous ones can be up and over an arch in a single growing season.

So here are some of my suggestions:-

Climbing roses: don’t be scared of roses, they’re remarkably tough and some of the modern varieties are disease resistant, so no need for spraying. I love Crown Princess Margareta, a gorgeous gold rose that flowers its sock off and smells delicious. Other favourites include ‘A Shropshire Lad’ (peachy pink) and ‘Falstaff’ (rich, deep, velvety red) – both heavily scented and repeat flowering. All these roses are by David Austin – log onto their Web site and choose from their massive catalogue .

Clematis: so many different varieties to choose from and all flowering at different times of the year. There are some that will even flower in the depths of winter. I love Clematis alpina ‘Frances Rivis’ (blue flowers in early spring), Clematis ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ is my absolute favourite, it produces fabulous double lilac flowers in early summer, then single blooms later in the year. I choose clematis that complement the climbing roses and plant them together.

Jasmine: Trachelospermum jasminoides is a great plant - an evergreen that produces heavily scented white flowers during the summer. Another favourite is Jasminium ‘Fiona Sunrise’ - deciduous, but with stunning lime green foliage and scented white flowers in summer.

Honeysuckle: many different varieties that produce intensely fragrant flowers at different times of the year. I like Lonicera ‘Halliana’, Lonicera ‘Serontina’, and Lonicera ‘Dropmore Scarlet’.
For a shady wall or fence try Vitis coignetiae, a very vigorous, non fruiting vine with huge leaves that turn fabulous fiery colours in the autumn.

Ivies have a bit of a bad reputation for being invasive. For some evergreen colour try some of the smaller leaved varieties such Hedera helix ‘Glacier’ and Hedera helix ‘Goldchild’. They’re not quite so vigorous and you can keep them in check.

Actinidia kolomikta is a superb climber, quite vigorous and grown for its decorative leaves which have cream and pink tips.

Akebia quinata is also knows as the Chocolate Vine. It has purlish brown flowers with a Vanilla scent.

Solanum ‘Glasnevin’ is a blue flowered, vigorous climber and is related to the potato. Its can get a bit too enthusiastic, but just chop it back regularly to keep it in check.

Andy Goldsworthy

2009-05-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

I love the work of British artist/sculptor Andy Goldsworthy - his work harnesses and celebrates nature and is beautiful and inspirational. Take a look at this Web link http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html and if you're not familiar with his work I guarantee you'll be a convert.

Case Study - Large Garden in Surrey - Update 7

2009-05-17T01:10:00.000-07:00

The garden in Kenley, Surrey is really coming together now. Work on the left-hand terraces is completed – all the walls are constructed and faced with Purbeck stone and the black Limestone paving is laid. The corner terrace with the porthole in its rear wall and semi-circular raised bed is built. The lawn level patio is under construction and nearly complete.

The retaining wall in the lower garden level has been installed – the client opted for timber cribs as this was a less expensive and not as important to the overall look of the garden as it is not visible from the house and main garden. The bank leading down to this area will be stripped, re-graded and laid with new turf.

The newly designed rear wall of the garden is also nearly complete. This wall was not part of the original brief, but when the line of mature Cypress trees was removed it was decided not to re-instate them, but to keep the garden open. This left an old wall that needed re-building, so it was raised slightly to 450mm and faced with Purbeck stone. I also designed a semi-circular seat that is partly recessed into the wall. Either side of the seat two semi circular recesses curve back into the line of the wall and provide plinths which will house two antique statues. The existing pergola that runs along the top of this wall is being extended and given a coat of black paint.

We are just waiting for some of the structural work in the lower level to be completed then work can start on the terraces on the right hand side of the house leading up to the driveway.

Patio and terraces

Semi-Circular Seat

Timber Cribs

A Relaxing Bank Holiday Weekend

2009-05-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

Whilst everyone else appears to have been rushing off to the coast this weekend, I awarded myself an extra long weekend and stayed at home. My idea of a relaxing break doesn’t involve sitting in traffic for several hours then squeezing onto a beach with hundreds of other people. My chosen method of chilling out is (I’m sure you can guess where I’m going with this) to spend time tootling around in my garden and on my allotment. Actually, there was less tootling and quite a lot of digging, weeding and planting.

On the allotment I dug over my tomato bed, yes I’m going to try some outdoor tomatoes again this year despite losing last the last two years’ crops to the dreaded tomato blight and swearing that I’d never do so again. I planted my three favourite varieties of tomato – Ferline (supposed to be blight resistant, but hasn’t worked so far), Sweet Olive (tiny plum tomatoes with a gorgeous flavour) and Marmande (a large, beefsteak tomato ideal for making sauces). I disinfected their canes with some dilute Jeyes fluid to ensure there were no blight spores on the canes from last year, gave them some manure and fish, blood and bone and crossed my fingers. They look bushy and healthy now, but its early days. I’m going to give them a spray with some copper sulphate in a couple of weeks just to give them the best possible chance of survival. I’m also growing all three varieties in my greenhouse just for backup, although outdoor tomatoes taste much nicer than ones grown in the greenhouse.

I also planted out my Gherkins – it’s the first time I’ve grown them, but my cucumbers are always a hit and I love pickled Gherkins so I decided to give them a try. One of the plants (which I raised in my greenhouse) already has some tiny fruits on it – very sweet! I planted two carrot varieties – Purple Haze (decorative and delicious) and Flyaway (carrot fly resistant) and just to be extra safe I planted a row of marigolds on either side of them to deter the carrot fly. I also planted a row of Parsnips – we don’t eat many Parsnips, but home grown ones are gorgeous. I planted two more rows of radishes and harvested my first bunch of both varieties – this year I’ve grown a round variety and also the French breakfast ones and they are fab!

In the front garden, I plugged some gaps in my herbaceous borders adding some Veronicastrum ‘Fascination’, Phlox ‘Velvet Flame’, and Aster frikartii ‘Monch’. I moved some Penstemmon ‘Raven’ which were in the way of my Paeonies, had a good old weed round and applied a top dressing of fish, blood and bone. In the back garden I planted some more Hemerocallis (purple and orange with a purple eye) in a space created by moving a Trachycarpus and had a sort out in the greenhouse. I potted up a new Acer and re-potted one that’s on my lower patio and not looking very happy. I put all my saved coffee grounds around my potted Hostas and it’s really done the trick – slugs 0, Linsey 1.

Forgot to take any pictures on the allotment, but here’s a photo looking up the garden and, yes, I am still waiting for the landscapers to come back and finish rendering the wall of my herb bed!

Loseley Park Spring Garden Show 2009

2009-04-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

If you fancy getting out into the fresh air this weekend why not come and have a chat with me on my stand at the Loseley Park Spring Garden Show? Its a lovely show with lots of great ideas for your garden and its going to be a gorgeous sunny weekend.

Loseley Park is a beautiful stateley home near Guildford in Surrey, and holds a Spring and Summer garden show every year. This year there will also be one in the Autumn. The shows are smaller than other garden shows, but you will find everything you'd expect at a larger show, but one a smaller scale making it a less exhausting and expensive day out.

Click here for information about Loseley Park and directions on how to get there.

The show runs from Friday to Sunday, opening times are 10am to 5pm and its only £2.50 to get in.

See you there.

Linsey

My allotment shows signs of life

2009-04-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

Finally, my Berkshire allotment is starting to take shape and the first shoots are poking their heads through the soil. I’ve been gradually digging in the winter mulch blanket, preparing and planting each section. So far I’ve put in spinach, chard, coriander, parsley, spring onions, radishes and beetroot. I’ve weeded around my raspberry canes and fruit bushes, and given them some Sulphate of Ammonia. This year it looks like there’s going to be a bumper crop of currants and gooseberries and I can’t wait.

I planted the radishes and beetroot under some mesh tunnels to prevent them being destroyed as they emerge by greedy pigeons. I noticed over the weekend that the slugs have been nibbling the first leaves – time for some beer traps I think. I’m going to put mesh tunnels over the spinach and chard this weekend to make sure the pigeons don’t get to them before I do – this also helps to keep the flea beetle off the spinach and rocket.

Over the Easter weekend I planted my broad bean plants which I’d been nurturing in the greenhouse for a few weeks. I always bring on my broad beans in the greenhouse – I find I can keep an eye on them and ensure that I get sufficient plants to give me a large crop. I love new broad beans. Some people pick them too late by which time they are tough and bitter. I pick them early and make a lovely warm salad. I cook the beans and cover with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Then I add some fried pancetta cubes, sun dried tomatoes and some soft goat’s cheese which melts into the dish. Serve with some crusty bread for a tasty supper dish. I always grow some green and some red broad beans – I don’t know which I prefer for taste, but it looks very pretty in the serving dish!

Pigeon protected radishes and beetroot

Broad Beans

Case Study - Large Garden in Surrey - Update 6

2009-04-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

The garden is really beginning to take shape now. All the retaining walls on the left-hand side of the garden have been faced with selected, random Purbeck stone. The alcoves in the conservatory terrace wall have had LEDs fitted so that when the lanterns aren’t lit they can still be illuminated - each alcove has a polished steel back plate to reflect the light.

The black Limestone paving has been laid on the upper terraces and the steps are almost complete. Because the paving oversails the walls and is visible from the lower garden it is really helping to define the curves and steps that give this garden its unique identity. The lower corner terrace is almost paved and should be complete by the time of my site visit next week. This will mean that the whole left-hand side of the garden is pretty much complete and you will begin to see how the finished garden will look.

There is what I have described as a porthole, but which others are referring to as a moon gate in the corner terrace wall. It is not, strictly speaking a moon gate as it’s not intended, nor is it large enough to give access to the area behind the wall. It’s purpose is to give a view on a new tree and planting behind the wall. Whatever you choose to call it it’s looking great and the contractors have done a splendid job – constructing a circle from blocks and stone is not a simple task and was made more difficult by the fact that the top of the porthole stands proud of the wall.

I have also designed some additional parts of the garden which were not included in the original project scope. We removed a line of Cypress trees that formed a screen around 10 metres tall sitting behind a low retaining wall. The client originally felt that they would like to replace this screen as soon as possible and so I obtained some prices for mature Yew and Bay hedging. However, once the trees were gone the client realised they were not needed for privacy and that the garden was more open and lighter without them, and they have not been replaced. So, I have re-designed the retaining wall that formed the raised bed in which the trees were planted. This wall will be raised to 450mm and faced with the Purbeck stone to tie in with the rest of the garden. There will be a semi-circular seat cut into the wall and two alcoves for displaying some rather lovely antique sculpture which needed a home.

Another area that has been designed is a lower level of the garden which forms a transition space between the middle level of the garden and main lawn area to the tennis court that forms the lowest level. The retaining wall that supports this part of the garden, consisting of some large lumps of stone mortared into place was falling down and considered to be unsafe. We consulted the structural engineer and started going through the options. Problems that needed to be overcome apart from providing a safe structural wall include difficult access, the clients’ wish to avoid pouring even more concrete if at all possible and keep costs down to a minimum. A proprietary system which requires very little excavation and no poured concrete has been chosen and the walls will be faced with planted, timber cribs. I have re-designed an area that sits on top of this new retaining wall which is a steep bank down from the upper garden with a set of steps at its centre and a flat area at the base. We are raising the base of the bank so that it forms a narrow raised bed, then retaining the rest of the bank with the stone reclaimed when demolishing the existing lower retaining wall to make a rock garden.

I also designed the shape of the new retaining wall as a flowing 'S' shaped curve that allows access to a previously dead area of the garden and ties in with the curves and terraces used elsewhere in the scheme. I'm off on site next Wednesday to mark out this curve with the main contractor - I may live to regret using so many freehand curves!

Water Features

2009-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Most people like the idea of having a water feature in their garden but worry that it will be complicated and time-consuming to maintain. The reality is that any water feature will need some maintenance, but the amount of work required depends on the type of water feature you choose. If you put in a huge pond with loads of plants then, yes, it’s more of a lifestyle choice than a decorative feature and that’s exactly what some people want - you can spend endless hours removing weed and leaves, tidying up planting, and repairing the liner. But the payback is a gorgeous habitat for wildlife, and a great place to relax. Another consideration is that open water is a massive hazard for unattended children, and wildlife, such as hedgehogs can drown if there’s no escape route.

However, if you don’t want a pond there are other options that will provide all the relaxing and aesthetic qualities of moving water without the maintenance headaches. Here are some suggestions.

A large pot or half barrel made waterproof, filled with water and planted with some aquatic plants can be very pretty. There are even waterlilies that state specifically that they are small enough for containerised ponds.

A basic bubble fountain kit consisting of a plastic reservoir with a pump and top grating can be bought at a garden centre. The reservoir is sunk into the ground and filled with water, the pump is fitted with a fountain nozzle and sits in the reservoir with its top protruding through the metal grating. The grating is covered with pebbles, or slate paddlestones, or any other suitably sized frost tolerant objects that take your fancy. Once switched on you will have a simple ground level fountain that gurgles away happily. The only maintenance required for such a feature is to top up the water level periodically and remove the filter from the pump and give it a wash – once a year is usually sufficient. You’ll need to get an electrician to wire in the feature.

You can use the reservoir and pump option in a number of different ways. Place a drilled stone/stainless steel sphere/granite sphere/anything else with a hole through it over the fountain outlet. The water foams out of the top of the chosen object and cascades down the sides to be recycled in the reservoir below. Place a reservoir at the base of a retaining wall, run the pipe from the pump up the back of the wall and connect it to a simple steel spout that protrudes through the wall directly over the reservoir. Water spills out of the spout and splashes down onto the cobbles below.

Rills are wonderful, fairly low maintenance and can be made shallow enough so as not to present a hazard to children, pets and wildlife. A rill is a narrow channel of water that empties into an open pool. It can be straight for a formal setting, or curved and meandering in a more informal garden.

A simple reflective pool can be very effective. Your local steel fabricator will be able to make up a base of any shape in stainless steel. Sink this into the ground and fill it with water. You will have a mirror pool of water that will catch the breeze on a windy day, or simply reflect its surroundings on a calm day. No electrics required.

In a courtyard a raised pool can be used to divide the space up, be part of a planting bed, or even the back of a seat. Several pools at different levels can feed into one another to move the water around. Wall mounted spouts look great spilling water into raised pools. The pools can be planted, or kept simple and reflective. A decent pump will be required if you’re moving water over distances – ask at your pond supplier to get the right pump for the job.

These are just a few suggestions – there are many more ways of using water. I’ve put in many different water features in the gardens I’ve designed in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Surrey and London – see the photographs below. If you’d like some inspiration please get in touch and I’ll be delighted to help.