On the 1st of October I finally took the leap to be self-employed full time! I've almost always ran my garden design business alongside another full-time job...often finishing work then designing gardens all evening and presenting them to clients at the weekends. When I first set up in March 2009 I worked at a local pub while I grew my business. I then in 2012 thought it would be useful to learn more about paving and hard landscape materials so worked at a couple of natural

I've never visited Packwood House before so took the opportunity when visiting a design project nearby to finally take a look at the gardens! I wasn't disappointed and thought the gardens looked fantastic. Graham Baron Ash remodelled the house during the 1920s and 1930s with an eye for glamour, quality and conservation. He even made it clear in his Memorandum of Wishes how he would like the rooms to be arranged and shown, including having fresh flowers throughout. The hous

I love Hampton Court Flower Show. It has all the wow factor of Chelsea just with more space, its easier to get to and is in a fabulous setting! I visited on the 3rd of July on a scorching hot day and joined the crowds, bottle of water in hand. My main mission at flower shows is always to take in the Show Gardens and this year didn't disappoint. I was lucky enough to visit the site during the build up and really felt for the contractors, and plants, in that heat! Everyone did

The quick answer to that question is...NOW! Seriously though, a lot of people contact me over the Easter break, when the weather starts to improve, hoping to have the garden designed and built ready for the summer...this time frame is just too short unfortunately. To enable the client and designer to work through a thorough brief and maximise the use of the space the process can easily take 3 months. This may sound like a long time but I have listed all the phases in the pro

...What made you get into Garden Design? I'd always loved drawing in my childhood and during my GCSE art preferred to draw intricate pieces in pen or pencil rather than expressive Picasso-esque explosions of colour like my classmates.  I was often marked down for this but I much preferred this style and now see its clear link with my chosen career! I'd produce pieces like this one below which I drew in 2000. My preference for the finer detail has become essential in garden de

I'm forever taking photos of trees and always try to include at least one in every garden design. I love them! Even small gardens can usually incorporate a tree of some form, usually a multistem Amelanchier to maximise the seasonal interest. Most trees can be maintained to a preferred size so shouldn't end up taking over the space. Below I used a Cercis canadensis to add some multistem interest and purple leaf colour to my design scheme. Trees can offer vertical interest, s

I recently attended a Sketchup training course organised by the Society of Garden Designers (SGD) as part of their new Designer Develoment Days (DDD). The course was held at The Greyhound Coaching Inn in Lutterworth by Paul Hensey. The course was a great way to refresh your memory of Sketchup or as a starting point to use CAD more in your portfolio of techniques to design gardens. I really enjoyed the course and it has reignited my interest in using my computer more to creat

...even in October. Since starting my Instagram feed I have taken so many more photos but you soon realise that everywhere you look has beauty in some form. It may be an interesting texture or the way the light is at that very moment. This is a very short blog post but really just to say, take a moment out of your hectic schedules to notice the beauty around you... even if it is just some moss on an old tree trunk! #nature #instagram #photography #beauty #moss #trees #landsca

I've loved living walls ever since I first discovered them, probably 6 years ago. Scotscape has always been the company I link with them as suppliers and installers, so I jumped at the chance to attend their workshop to learn more about living walls. The workshop was held at Scotscape's headquarters in Surbiton, Surrey on the 25th August. The day began with an hour long presentation covering everything, including the benefits to the environment, biodiversity, health and wellb

I exhibited at the Ragley Hall Home and Garden show on the 15th July. It was a fantastic location with stunning views over the Capability Brown designed landscape. I met lots of lovely people and discussed their garden needs. I will be visiting several at their homes to view their garden and discuss their projects further. My portfolio was available to view and I took my puppy, 'Bee', too who attracted lots of attention! There were lots of stands showcasing all sorts of produ

Clients sometimes don't realise the value in spending on the design phase of a new garden project. They don't want to eat into their budget but here are 5 reasons why it's an essential investment to ensure the projects success. 1. It will save you money By having a design priced up prior to installation, you can be sure it's tailored to be within budget and works won't escalate. You can also be confident in the knowledge of what will be achieved for the quoted cost. You also

I visited Shakespeare's New Place garden and was pleased to see the recent works have retained the charm of the Great Garden while introducing new areas to tell the story of Shakespeare and his wonderful plays. The stunning new Gatehouse, located where Shakespeare's front door used to be, is made from copper, timber and has a mirrored frame to the rear creating a magical effect when viewed from inside the garden. Once inside the garden, one then continues past several feature

Having just returned from a lovely short break walking in the Surrey Hills, I thought it was the perfect topic to blog about. I love escaping to the countryside for inspiration and to clear my mind for creativity. We walked the National Trust's 'Happy Valley Walk'. This 3 mile trail offers amazing views of the Surrey countryside from Box Hill and includes beautiful woodland and Broadwood Tower on the way. Broadwood's Tower was built in 1815 by Thomas Broadwood of Juniper Ha

Welcome to my new blog! Exciting times, as I finally launch my new website and have a blog too, welcome to 2017! I will cover all things landscape and design related here and will keep you up to date with what I'm up to and what's happening with my designs...so keep checking in :) #gardens #website #design #gardendesign #blog #landscape #hello