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Marking out the Garden Design on the ground The next phase is probably the hardest in terms of skill and accuracy with such a geometric design. Marking it on the slightly sloping lumpy field surface. I won’t lie, the marking out of any garden always starts out with bags of enthusiasm and excitement before slight […]

The Exploding Atom garden has been my muse since moving house from the non-stop Manchester Cityscape to rural solitude in Lathom, a 6 square mile sleepy historical village. Talk about juxtaposition! The move brought a new perspective on my garden designs. Rather than small awkward city spaces with multi-functions, what would I design for a […]

Councils have faced significant budget cuts in the last few years, mainly as a knock-on effect of quantitative after the recession brought on by the banking and financial sector crisis. I’m not going to voice my opinions on that sorry state of affairs, on whether it’s true that the establishment has always propped itself up […]

This client wanted to turn an unloved car park back garden into a rich sensory garden for their children to play safely in. They also wanted an adult zone to help them relax after a hard days work. They needed car parking space that was hidden, a quick access route to the house on wet […]

The Sensory Story Garden is a project run by Selina Melon from Kids Creative to create a safe playground for visitors to Wythenshawe park. Using sensory factors and natural materials to create an oasis of fun where children and parents can create their own stories whilst in the space. I absolutely love sensory gardens and […]

There’s really no need to take drastic action with most gardens when a Garden Rescue & SOS will help you achieve the balance between beauty and function in your garden. This article will detail a recent Garden rescue I undertook, this is where Garden Ninja revamps a gardens entire planting scheme without overhauling the hard landscaping. […]

The first impression people have when you tell them you’re visiting France is to probably associate your trip with fine wine, cheese, tours around vineyards or even freshly baked croissants; but there’s a whole other dimension to see if you add ‘jardins remarquables’ to the list. Garden Ninja has spent the past week touring around […]

I chose Manchester’s canal and industrial heritage as my design inspiration to create a calming, restful space where you could ‘Take a pew’ with a brew after a hard days work. Using ordinary reclaimed materials such as sleepers and granite sets to make an extraordinary front garden that can turn your front garden into something […]

New Build Garden Makeover Often new build gardens are random shapes that don’t quite work with many designs or ideas. They nearly always feature hundreds of utility grids right smack bang in the centre of the lawn area. It’s a shame that the garden space is most often tiny and they give you the smallest […]

I entered a National garden design competition with the RHS and BBC: the RHS Feel Good Garden competition. The brief was to design a ‘Feel good’ front garden, taking inspiration from your local area. I received fantastic news recently from the RHS: I had won and been chosen as one of the four winners to […]