How many of us have spent good money on bedding plants or exotic plants that have either shrivelled up and died or needed to be watered every day throughout the summer? Although we get plenty of rainfall in the UK, there can be weeks where we have very dry periods which can really affect the more delicate garden planting. I have long advocated for designing gardens and creating planting schemes using both native and drought-tolerant plants rather than plants or trees that require intensive care and extra water. Naturalistic planting design has become much more popular in recent years, and is now
Read MoreIt's a common misconception that wildlife gardens can't be 'sexy' and that growing food in your garden is the reserve of those with land to spare. The Cloud Nine Kitchen Garden put paid to that.Particularly relevant to small town and city spaces, the garden dealt with issues of food security, wildlife conservation and sustainability in a tiny 6 x 4 metre plot.This was my first show garden, at RHS Tatton Park in 2015, and my first chance to show the world my passion for gardens. Back then, the majority of garden designs did not incorporate wildlife and ecology but I wanted to showcase
Read MoreIt’s great to see themes of re-wilding in the spotlight at this year’s RHS Chelsea show, a year after I launched my Rewilding garden at RHS Tatton. The concepts of re-wilding have really captured people’s imaginations in the past few years. Traditionally the RHS flower shows were all very formal and very high maintenance, so I do enjoy seeing elements of wildness and ecology being brought in to demonstrate how we can all enjoy our gardens, while still sharing them with wildlife. Of course, the true essence of the concept of rewilding is diluted slightly in such a managed format such as a show
Read MorePlanning permission has been submitted this week for the UK’s biggest urban farm and eco-park in Oldham. If this goes ahead – and fingers crossed, it should – this new 160 acre site will be amazing for the local ecology and wildlife, as well as the local community. The plans include a visitor and learning centre, a natural amphitheatre and a swimming pool, as well as community allotments and growing space and a café. I think it's a really exciting development and have been following the news since it was first announced. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-61471562A boulevard in the skyAnother interesting development in for planning
Read MoreAlready we’re seeing garden centres and supermarkets stacking up the bedding plants – and we cannot deny the allure of planting up pots, hanging baskets and planting borders with brightly coloured flowers this Easter.So what’s the problem with bedding plants?In short, they are really quite bad for the environment. Any nature and ecology-based landscape designer or architect will avoid designing in bedding plants to a planting scheme.Most bedding plants are not native, so won’t survive our winters. This means they’ve been grown in large intensively heated greenhouses, using up water and electricity – which let’s face it, is not cheap!They
Read MoreThe Eat & Shelter garden was designed for homeowners to be able to cook, use the surrounding An edible garden and create a unique habitat for wildlife too. This is an ultra low maintenance garden which proves that you can provide for wildlife while still having a luxury contemporary design.Eat and Shelter combines contemporary planting with plenty of texture from grasses and tall flowering plants, with a top-of-the-range Alfa pizza oven and fire table. Edible planting such as thyme, rosemary, fennel and chives means diners can simply pick herb and salads straight from the garden to add onto their meal.Taking
Read MoreJust this week we are starting to see stacks of potting compost bags in the supermarkets – mostly on some kind of offer. But what a lot of people don’t realise is that they include peat, taken from the UK’s valuable peat bogs. By grabbing those cheap bags of compost, we are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of the UK’s valuable peatlands – essential for our fight against climate change. So why is peat used in our potting compost? It has a great ability to retain water and nutrients so is a very good growing medium. Home gardeners use 66% of
Read MoreTree planting season is coming to an end so now is a great time to think about investing in a multi-functional specimen tree to get Plant a tree before spring. It’s important to look at the end size of a tree compared to the size of your garden – you don’t want a 20m high Scots Pine in a small back garden in 10 years time! There are many benefits to using the beautifully named Mophead maple (Acer Platanoides ‘Globosum’) within a garden planting scheme, including its autumn colour. Its round tight canopy carries a contemporary look which allows underplanting of bulbs
Read MoreHowever much we love a certain plant, flower or tree in our gardens, we should also be asking ourselves – what function will this have within my eco-system? All plants are multi-functional in many ways, so it makes sense for a garden designer to plan out a new landscape as a mini eco-system, with every plant in the right place. While my design aesthetic is to create the ultimate in luxury, I also bring into play the ecology of the surrounding landscape. What are the functions of plants?Climatically, plants are important, as we all know. As our climate changes, we must also
Read MoreI’ve been working on designs for the Paragraph 80 house that I’m working on with Jackson Crane Architects. Paragraph 80 is a planning regulation that allows houses to be built in the countryside if they meet very tough specific criteria. Having an ecology and landscape consultant on board definitely helps the planning process – and my job is to ensure that the surrounding landscape is enhanced by the project. Currently we are working on detailed landscape plans, which will include interior grow spaces, with historic local fruit species. The new landscape concludes with a foraging walk through the wilds beyond. The new concept will
Read MoreI've been sat at my desk this week, mulling over the year gone by Merry Christmas to all and planning out the year ahead. One of the highlights of my year was creating the Rewilding Garden at the RHS Tatton Show in July. The build period for any flower show is intense - you have a short amount of time to push your own boundaries and create a mature garden worthy of a panel of judges. But then once it's done, I have four days of chatting with visitors, who are just as passionate as I am about nature, ecology and really high-end
Read MoreThere are so many benefits to creating a green roof - they don't just look pretty (and they really do look attractive!).One of the key benefits is that they absorb and use rainwater, which means it doesn't end up in our drainage systems. This article below by Gardens Illustrated says that in the summer a green roof can store 75% of rain, while in the winter it can store 40% of winter rainwater. The water stored will feed the plants but can also be evaporated back into the atmosphere. Green roofs can work really well in a domestic setting on a garage,
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