A group of plants I grow a lot in my own garden and in my clients’…
Garden design
Large communal roof terrace in Fulham, London
This design had some particular challenges including craning a number of tonnes of top soil onto…
Small garden design in Clapham, London
Over time the planting in this garden will grow to hide almost all of the fences…
Large garden design in Clapham, London
Recently finished and planted, in this large family garden in Clapham, London I lowered a third…
Current project: garden redesign in Clapham, London
This garden already had a strong layout with some established trees and shrubs, though some of…
Current project: Belsize Park, London
The owner is having an architect designed extension to the house making the garden slightly smaller.…
Garden design with studio in Braughing, Hertfordshire
This quaint cottage in Braughing had recently been tastefully renovated by its new owners with a…
Living wall design in Camberwell, London
This garden was already well established with a collection of tree fern species viewed through huge…
Front garden design in Clapham, London
This challenging north facing front garden is in full shade and was previously a patch of…
Future Meadow: Winter One
The race to grow is primal in all living things. One of the challenges of planting…
Pot’s Growing On in November? Hedging my bets
I’ve been thinking for a while that something is up with our small garden and these…
The gardener who keeps on giving
The first time I met Penny Snell she handed me a glass of wine and a…
Is this the year we fell in love with Symphyotrichum? Photos from Sussex Prairies
This Autumn everyone I speak to has discovered a love of Symphyotrichum. Or should I say,…
Sir Harold Hillier Arboretum and Gardens
Last week Chris and I popped to the New Forest for a couple of days and…
Bombay Sapphire Distillery: making gin from herbs and other botanicals amidst jaw dropping design
Chris and I popped to the New Forest for a night and stopped at the new…
11 Chelsea plant combinations you can try at home
Like my 15 Sensational Plantings to Recreate from Chelsea article last year I’m hoping to breakdown…
26 things at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018
The consensus so far from people at RHS Chelsea? “This is a good ‘un”. Variety is…
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 – first impressions
This year I’ve spent a couple of days mooching about RHS Chelsea Flower Show during construction.…
12 plants that add COLOUR-POW to your garden in winter
If your garden doesn’t look something like the above right now, it’s time to act! Plan…
Fleeting flowers
The joy of the snowdrop, cherry blossom and tulip. The fritillary and daffodil, the allium and…
Victorian plant fashion at Lanhydrock, Cornwall
A report from our brief visit to the immaculately preserved Lanhydrock house and garden owned by…
At the end of the earth, plants – Prospect Cottage, Dungeness
An upfront confession: I’ve never seen nor heard of any of Derek Jarman’s films. A film director…
15 sensational plant combinations you can try at home from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017
One of my bugbears around Chelsea time are the naysayers proclaiming the gardens are unrealistic and…
23 things at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017
The Chelsea Flower Show is nuts. People on stilts dressed only in flowers, cactus jackets, astro…
James Basson’s road to ‘best in show’ at Chelsea Flower Show 2017
There are some garden designers we see at RHS shows regularly. James Basson is one that came…
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 – Press Day Highlights
It’s hard to take in the brain blitz that is the Chelsea Flower Show in one day…
Marrakesh (Part Five): Le Jardin Secret by Tom Stuart-Smith
One tip I’d like to share is: do not visit more than two gardens in one…
30 unreal photos of London garden design in the dead season
Winter is a fresh season. Everything is stripped back, cleansed and reset for the coming year. It’s…
Marrakesh (Part Four): Jardin Majorelle
Jardin Majorelle is best known today for being owned by Yves Saint Lauren, who famously saved…
Marrakesh (Part Three): Islamic tiled courtyards at Bahia Palace
The second oldest garden we visited was by far the most visually arresting of designs. It is immaculate…
Marrakesh (Part Two): blown away by ancient Islamic garden design at the El Badi Palace
I’ve wanted to visit Marrakesh for about ten years, drawn by its bright colours. What I hadn’t…
Landscape design at Stowe Garden in Buckinghamshire
Back in November Chris and I had the opportunity to spend a sunny Autumn afternoon at Stowe…
Out of the shrubbery into the scrub
On Saturday 26th November 2016 the SGD hosted a conference about the use of shrubs in gardens.…
Have you ever changed your mind about a plant you hate?
We all have them, a list of plants we dislike. Yet every now and then something…
Modernist garden design at The Homewood
After learning of The Homewood while studying garden design history with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,…
Living on a prairie (part 1)
This year I took on my allotment and I designated one bed for garden design experiments.…
That sinking feeling – RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
The other week Chris and I went to RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show where two…
From the streets: Brighton’s futuristic municipal planting
I don’t know what they put in the water down in Brighton (where I work) but…
Form factor – our garden in June 2016
The best thing I’ve added to our border this year (I think so far) is Nicotiana…
Lambeth Palace Gardens
As part of the RHS Level 3 course we have to learn about different garden design…
24 Things at the Chelsea Flower Show 2016
This is my third year at the Chelsea Flower Show and it remains an emotional experience.…
7 Trends at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016
I’ll have more blog posts this week with my photos and thoughts from the Chelsea Flower…
Gallery: Chelsea Flower Show 2014 & 2015 recap
“People can only dream of a Chelsea Flower Show garden” they say. To that I say:…
Photo Gallery: My favourite garden design inspiration from my travels
This gallery contains a selection of my favourite garden design from 2014 and 2015. Photos are…
Great Dixter – a garden outside of time
Stepping onto Great Dixter soil is like stepping into a dream world of wispy, airy meadows,…