I planted this garden during a very hot week, so I took this photo in the shade of the beautiful birch tree just after I had finished the planting.
Plant delivery day. All those gorgeous plants! The black sacks are full of lovely compost which I add at the end as a mulch to aid growth. Looks great too!
This border is planted up and now the plants just need to grow! You can have smaller or larger plants depending on your budget. I make choices about what size plants to buy depending on their growth rate, importance within the design and the budget. It can often be better to buy younger trees, for example, as they will settle in and grow away more quickly than a very large specimen.
Rosa ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’. A gorgeous colour and the most wonderful fragrance. For this design I planted 3 varieties in groups of three. They will fill out to form a mound of beautiful flowers.
Setting out. Before planting anything, I set out the complete design and make any fine adjustments so the whole look is just right. Then the planting begins!
Reshaping the borders. My client wanted to help with the work because “it’s better than going to the gym!”
An axonometric drawing of the garden. I find it’s useful for clients when I’m designing their planting to be able to show them what it could look like. This type of drawing is often the most effective way to achieve this.
