Garden maintenance is boring. It is often seen as the repetitive, less creative side of gardening, and is often delegated to people who are good at tidying up, but don’t really know what it is that they are tidying up, and nevermind why. This isn’t meant as a put-down of the tidy-uppers, more a general … Read More
Author: Severine
Best laid plans
Anybody who has been wowed by beautiful garden planting, or felt excited about some creative plant combinations, will want to try and replicate that feeling in their own gardens. There are many plants to choose from and pretty much endless planting combinations. So no wonder I get WhatsApp photos of empty borders and requests … Read More
Confidence tricks
Tips for a low maintenance garden Let’s face it, nobody has ever asked me to create a high maintenance garden. This post is about steps and attitudes to take if you want to feel that you’re ruling your garden and not the other way round. First of all, a low maintenance garden is a know … Read More
Birdsong
A recent stay in hospital meant that I was cut off from all external sounds for 3 days. My ward had a view over the hospital lobby, but no sound coming through the thick double glazing, and certainly no traffic noise, no wind whistling, no rain battering the windows and no birdsong. I knew that … Read More
Nature on your doorstep
As we become increasingly urbanised, our day to day appreciation of nature and how it presents itself to us is evolving. Over the past 20…
Do not worry
Over the years I have listened to friends’ and customers’ various garden “concerns”, which I sometimes try to debunk. They are usually to…
Things for free
As a garden designer, I often feel like my customers’ personal shopper. In essence, I’m trying to be as good as possible at spending…
On the origin of spaces
Within the range of my middle age lifespan, I have already seen many changes to familiar spaces. I have in mind two contrasting examples….
The 10 best garden plant…names
I’m a real sucker for a list. And in the gardening world there are many: top 20 plants for shade, 10 best roses, 25 easy…
Bare essentials
At this time of year, cash strapped garden designers (hello!) would have you believe this is a good time for planning your garden, when…