Posts Tagged ‘Planting Design’

I went to see a new client in North London before Christmas because they wanted some help to improve the front of their house.  Front gardens can often be challenging because they are predominantly functional spaces, but they must also provide curb appeal because they are the window to your home.

The previous owner of this house had a motorbike so the front garden was block-paved so that the bike could be kept off the road.  As you can see, it’s not very attractive and currently the rubbish bins are the focal point from the road.

Rubbish is often a problem too because the front is open where the garden meets the pavement.

The new design will incorporate some steps to deal with the slope and to provide a better definition of the boundary.

Because the front door is at an angle to the front of the house I am proposing that the threshold step covers the whole area in front of the door.  This will make the approach seem much more welcoming.

The bins will be stored away from the house and so that they can easily be moved out when the rubbish is collected.

The planting will be simple, tidy and low maintenance.  Front gardens should look good all year round and be easy to maintain.  They are of course seen and walked through every day, whatever the weather and whatever time of day, but they need to pretty much take care of themselves.

I have five planting plans to do at the moment, of which three are for large gardens that will easily need a few hundred plants to fill up the beds.  For many people it’s the plants that get them excited about the garden so it’s really important that this element reflects their personal style and ignites their desire to be out there amongst them. Read more

It’s been a couple months since the hard landscaping elements have been finished for my project in Sutton but with spring now upon us, I have been thinking about the planting phase of the project which is likely to happen in early April. Read more

On Friday I met with a local Interior Designer, who I work with quite regularly, to present the concept design idea for the new garage area at their home.  You may remember that I redesigned the couryard area outside their new office a while back.  The hard landscaped elements for the courtyard are finished and we will be ready to plant in the Spring.  Due to the expansion of their business, they will now be moving the office away from their home and this has created an opportunity to create a new garage area. Read more

A while ago I shared the new terrace design for a London Town House.  The house building project is almost finished and the construction of the terrace is due to start next week so I thought I’d share the planting design with you. Read more

I spent 3 days last week planting up the garden in Ashtead.  I wouldn’t normally be quite so hands on with digging and moving soil, but as I had some help for the toughest day, I was happy to do it.  Read more

As you know, I have spent much of the last 2 weeks planting up the garden near woking.  Although this hot spell isn’t the best thing to have straight after planting, we did manage to get the garden mulched whilst the soil was still cool and damp so it should be ok.  Of course, it’s going to take some time for the planting to fill out and feel like a proper garden, but it’s amazing what even the smallest specimens do to soften the hard landscaping. Read more

On Monday I presented a planting design to my client in Ashtead.  Sadly, she lost her husband a couple of years ago and because he was the “gardener” of the house, the planted areas in the back garden have become a bit tired and unkempt. Read more