08 March 2019
I often hear clients worrying about ivy smothering trees or damaging buildings. I reassure them that this is mostly ungrounded - sound brickwork and healthy trees will happily co-exist with ivy, and of course our native trees have evolved to live in harmony with it.
And look at this detail of old ivy growth on a tree trunk - when you remember that biodiversity thrives in complexity and in the edges between ecological zones, you start to...
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28 June 2018
I'm trying to visit a few completed gardens this summer to see how they have matured, and I caught this magical moment in one, where the light combined with the planting and the moving water in such a beautiful way. Seeing this reminds me why I love designing, the opportunity to create beauty using natural elements. The water feature was a bespoke design for this garden; one other was commissioned by the late Professor Stephen Hawking, and I...
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28 June 2018
Just going through old filing and came across this lovely message on a Christmas card from a client -
'I love my garden! Every day I end up staring out the windows. Of course it doesn't always get as much attention as it deserves on a weekly basis, but it is still the best garden in Dickens Heath! You did a superb job for us...'
So you've been warned: if you don't want to be drawn to gaze loving at your garden on a daily basis, don't ask us...
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25 June 2018
When clients decided they would like to review an existing water feature, we came up with the idea of a dry river bed, referencing the previous existence of the water, but introducing a completely new element into the garden, with lots of textural interest from the beautiful boulders and pebbles in different sizes. Contractor Guy Jones of Emotive Landscapes did a lovely job of arranging the stones in a naturalistic fashion to our design, having...
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18 June 2018
I love getting feedback and it was great to get this message at the weekend:
...'I'm struck by how lovely everything is looking even on a cloudy day like today'. Here's the picture my client sent of this relatively new garden, only completed and planted last year:
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