Design & Planting Projects
Tranquil gravel garden
LANDSCAPING | PLANTING | DESIGN | MAINTENANCE
Before
After
Before
During
I was called in to solve the problem of an overgrown, unloved front garden which had been long neglected. A beautiful magnolia tree, a holly tree and a mixed hedge were all salvageable, and worth keeping. The rest of the garden, however, consisted of an ancient membrane and gravel layer, covered by many years of organic matter, and growing through all of this were millions of ash saplings, a ridiculous amount of Crocosmia and a lot of other ‘over enthusiastic’ plants, which had just taken over.
The clients brief was to have a calm and tidy space requiring minimal maintenance, and so after I had thoroughly cleared and levelled whole site I decided to reinstate the membrane, and cover it in cobbles to prevent the weeds coming back. Carefully chosen plants add pops of colour in a restricted and sophisticated palette of green, blue and white, with a succession of seasonal interest. Ferns, bluebells, hellebores and euphorbia blend into brunnera, agapanthus and japanese anemones, with a central black Cordyline as a focal point.
18 months later, I am pleased with the way the garden changes through the seasons, and the clients are very happy with how low maintenance it is!
Urban Wildlife Oasis
PLANTING | MAINTENANCE
Before
After
This tiny Brighton courtyard garden was an unloved and unused space, consisting only of concrete slabs, and some weeds. The client wanted to prioritise biodiversity and sustainability so wanted to keep and re-use some of the existing concrete slabs instead of adding any new hard landscaping. The brief was also to add a huge amount of wildlife friendly planting and a pond a to create a garden for all sorts of creatures to call home.
This planting project happened across three phases during the spring and summer, and allowed me to use some of my favourite planting combinations. I wanted to try and cover the monotonous fencing as quickly as possible and make the garden a colourful, thriving space, all year round. In under a year, it has been incredible to see how much wildlife it has attracted… birds, butterflies, many types of bees, and much much more.
Coastal Courtyard
PLANTING | MAINTENANCE
Before
After
This sunny coastal courtyard, minutes from the seafront in Brighton, urgently needed a bit of a makeover. The client had loads of old pots which were mostly empty after a period of neglect. With the courtyard being very exposed - to both sun, and sea breezes, I chose a mixture of hard wearing and evergreen mediterranean plants like olive and myrtle, plus a beautiful red Cordyline, and filled in with agapanthus, geums, lavenders, sempervivum and erigeron to add pops of colour, plus some grasses to create movement in the sea breezes. All top-dressed with pea gravel for a neat finish and to minimise weeds, and help keep moisture in.
Contemporary Terraces
DESIGN | PLANTING | IN PROGRESS
Before
After
The main problem with this large, sloped back garden was that outside the back door were steps leading up to an unused wooden decking. The family would walk up to a paved area further up the steps to relax and socialise, but never used the decking. The very wide steps dominated the garden, and were bordered by large shrubs, all quite large and dominating.
My design, built in November 2025, allows for a large stone patio at the same level as the back of the house, to create an outdoor kitchen and seating area. The steps were narrowed and moved to one side, and lead up to another seating area, and a lawn. Some of the larger shrubs were removed to make space, and some were creatively pruned to look like multi stem trees. New planting in the sunny, south facing border is mediterranean, while the north facing border has an english woodland feel, but the two sides are unified by their white, blue and purple colour scheme. This project is still ongoing and a further phase of spring planting is planned to fill in the gaps. Watch this space!
