Tuesday 18 November 2014

Bodmin Georgian Courtyard Garden

A design to create an elegant and low maintenance garden courtyard.
 
 
The space also creates a new entrance way to the main door of the house and is in keeping with the look and period of the house.
 
 
Great feedback from the clients - 'Thank you so much for the great design and your help so far.'
 
 

Monday 17 November 2014

Large Border Planting, Port Isaac

This garden on the outskirts of Port Isaac was a complete blank canvas.  The client wanted to create a  very large curving border in the existing lawn, and keep the rest of the garden very natural. 
 
    
Starting to plant.....the site is open and south facing which is hot and sunny in the warmer months.
 
 
Astrantias for cut flowers....

 
Sedums for late summer and autumn colour....

 
The beautiful blue flowers of small shrub Caryopteris....

 
The curving sweep of the border....
 
 
 
Looking forward to seeing the plants fill out and flourish next spring. 




Thursday 18 September 2014

Coastal Garden Bude

This amazing water bowl was the finishing touch to the coastal garden at Bude, and acts as a beautiful sculptural piece within the planting.
 
 
 


The fantastic summer weather has really helped the plants to thrive...



 
 
 So many of the plants are encouraging wildlife within the garden to thrive as well!


Tuesday 22 July 2014

New Build Garden

 
This new build garden had a real problem with drainage.  The ground was clay, baked hard by the sun and then completely waterlogged when wet.  The garden had had turf seed sown but the conditions would not allow a lawn to develop. 
 
 
The garden was also a blank canvas, with no features or planting at all.

 
Two patio areas were separated by a drainage channel, and one was raised slightly.  A soakaway was also added.


 
The clients wanted a seating space with some raised beds and to integrate a water feature brought from their last home.

 
The raised timber beds create the herb garden that the client was keen to have,
 
 
as well as a good green area of lawn, which was also raised slightly to help with the drainage.
 


Trellis was used to hide a unsightly wall along the back garden boundary.  The garden is a real hotspot of a suntrap,  and the existing raised beds and new borders were filled with Lavender, Day Lilies, Hebes, Crocosmia, and Nepeta amongst many other plants suitable for such a sunny spot.

 
The garden is not large but has now been transformed from a scrubby patch into a garden with different areas for seating, a herb garden, lawn, with space to walk around and through the gardens' spaces.  
 
 
 

Monday 2 June 2014

Coastal Garden, Bude

The design for the coastal garden at Bude....the aim, to make the most of the lawn, add to the planting with new borders, replace the overgrown hedges, and create different seating areas within the garden.

 
The garden before work started was dominated by a poor quality lawn.  It had no planting borders and was enclosed by huge overgrown hedges of diseased Escallonia and blocky conifers. 
 
 
 
The client wanted a good quality lawn, with new areas of interest through planting, and paving, with some sculptural features. 
 
The garden cleared and areas being defined....
 

 
A sculptural circular seat/viewing platform to make the sea views more accessible...with inbuilt slate steps.
 
 
The tumbled granite sett edging for the borders, with the new sculptural fencing behind framing and screening the garden....
 
 
Steel edging for the lawn to give a crisp, clean and contemporary look....

 
The plants going in....

 
The finished lawn is a half circle and maximises the space in this long elongated garden....
 
 
A patio of slate crazy paving works well with the sculptural timber and organic curving lines of the borders and lawn.....
 
 
The stone faced viewing platform/seat is enclosed by a curving sculptural screen of spaced timber uprights,
 
 
with planting in front...
 
 
The planting is a mix of Mediterranean and coastal planting in the hot and sunny borders...
with some soft woodland style planting for the bank and borders in the shade of the wooded area behind the garden.
 
 
This area is now a fantastic sunny space for relaxing or entertaining, surrounded by beautiful and vibrant planting.  I can't wait to see how the borders develop over the summer - more photos to follow progress later in the season.....
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday 14 April 2014

Woodland Border

An additional border has been created and planted up around the back of the pool in the Woodland Garden near Blisland.  It has been planted with some shrubs but mainly ground cover plants, with foliage and flowers that give all year round interest and will give colour and light to shady spots....


The white Bleeding Hearts or Dicentra, gives a shady spot brightness...
 
 
as does the Wood Spurge, Euphorbia amygdaloides...
 
 
and the forget-me-not 'Jack Frost'...
 
 
the foliage of Hellebores, Skimmia and ferns all add interest...
 
 
 

Spring Colour

I love this time of year, especially in my own garden.  It's amazing how just a few colourful plants, blossoms, and foliage can transform a garden....

Tulips caught by the sun in a shady corner...


The early blossom of  the Amelanchier tree...


Periwinkle in a shady corner is fantastic for providing colour and interest....

 
The lovely blossom and woody frame of Quince....