West Lavington Manor

West Lavington Manor is a 5 acre walled garden first established in C17 by John Danvers who brought Italianate gardens to the UK. There is a stunning herbaceous border,  a redeveloped beautiful Japanese garden with tea house, a new rose garden chockablock full of different varieties,  an orchard and an arboretum with some outstanding specimen

‘Pearl’ garden in South west London

Pearl garden in South West London For this small Streatham garden we needed to create the perfect place in which to entertain. The owner is a busy professional who travels massively and who wanted a garden that could instantly look good on arrival home; daytime or evening. What was an untended space has turned into

A shrub for January – Gorse!

I had been thinking all this month about what should be my January shrub and hadn’t come to any conclusions,  leaving it rather late and then I was in Suffolk this week-end on the Heritage Coast near Dunwich and saw this spectacular display of gorse – with its fabulous fragrance.  This is a wonderful and

Back to Black

With acknowledgement to my dear friend Alexandra Campbell her recent blog http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/9-things-to-do-differently-in-the-garden-this-year/ has drawn attention to the use of black paint in gardens which I have been using in my garden designs for some time now  and here below are some pictures which might show you the ‘power of black’.  If you have an old fence which

Caroline Garland’s ‘capsule’ garden

  This is a very small narrow garden which is seen from the owners’ flat above and is reached by a narrow passage running along side the house. At the back of the garden is a church with pretty windows.  The owners wanted a light, contemporary and easy to maintain garden.   I thought if

Wreaths and garlands for Christmas

Once again I am making beautiful wreaths and garlands for Christmas.  Here are some examples of the wreaths that I make.  For a medium sized wreath I charge £42.  They are entirely traditional and are covered in gourds, berries, cinnamon sticks, cones etc.  For the garlands I will charge £48 per metre and most mantelpieces

10 beautiful purple plants for your summer border

10 beautiful purple plants for your summer border I love the colour purple in a summer border. It is very effective. It is a colour that can be overlooked but it blends in beautifully with greens, whites, yellows, pinks and believe it or not reds. These plants will give you tremendous satisfaction as they are

New Vintage gardens like a puddle

“There is no concept of diversity of habitats for wildlife, of puddles for swallows to get mud from to make their nests with.  The shabby charm that once pervaded English country gardens has been lost to horticultural Brazilians”.  “Native trees are replaced with garden-centre specimens – preferably gold, variegated and purple-leaved – all shaped into

Les Jardins Agapanthe

In the words of the owner and designer of Les Jardins Agapanthe “Often the words “curious”, “exotic”, or “magical” blossom from the mouths of visitors when describing them”.  I would add electric, stunning, breathtaking – these gardens are simply the most staggering that I have seen. http://www.jardins-agapanthe.com/ 1 Impasse Agapanthe, 76850 Grigneuseville, Haute-Normandie, France (+33)

How contemporary sculpture mixes with New Vintage

How contemporary sculpture mixes with New Vintage I visited my friend Emma last week-end in Faversham, Kent.  You walk through the front door of her “town” house, through the house and very quickly find yourself in a small haven in the back garden which is hard-landscaped built on stone and broken up by lush planting

How to create a vista in a typical town garden

How to create a vista in a typical town garden A vista or the feeling of space and distance in a relatively small garden is ambitious but achievable.  Even in a 10 acre site getting the proportions and balance is exacting so in a fairly typical London long and narrow garden this can be difficult

Chelsea Physic Garden early in the flowering year

Chelsea Physic garden is always worth a visit and I wasn’t disappointed today.  One or two fabulous Spring flowers and a lot to come I can see.  The main herbal garden and Garden of World Medicine has had a complete overhaul.  I don’t think it is to everyone’s taste, possibly a bit dated but I