Contemporary Gardens

Updated 2021: So you’ve got your ticket in hand for the Chelsea flower show and giddy with excitement you can’t wait to see what’s on offer. However, some key advice will help you avoid pitfalls, mental/physical fatigue and put your mind at rest so you can enjoy the world’s most celebrated flower show. The main […]

Grasses for Small Gardens If you’ve only got a small garden then naturally you’re only going to be looking for petite smaller varieties. Luckily there are many to choose from all of which can bring some movement and calm to your garden. All the grasses contained within this guide are clump-forming, meaning they don’t run […]

Creating a show garden is no mean feat. It takes months of planning, preparation and is a real consideration for any garden designer. Usually, your concept starts as a broader ‘idea’ before it is funnelled, refined and condensed into a show garden. However, memorial gardens are different, very different. They require the opposite considerations. You’re […]

Most people struggle with creating their own townhouse or terraced house garden as space is often too small to imagine or they try and simply cram in loads of ideas making it look cluttered. Given the lack of space and adjacent properties, my clients often complain that there’s no privacy and that space limits what […]

A modern garden design style can turn a garden into a room you just can’t wait to be in. Summer evenings are spent sipping fizz out in your garden terrace, with careful mood lighting, dramatic planting and the feeling of privacy. Plants organised into blocks of colour. Everything in its place with neat lines and […]

When designing a garden to become an extension of a house or ‘outside room’ there are some key areas you need to factor in. I thought it may be helpful to provide a guide as to how to achieve this, leading by example of course! So why not turn your garden into an entertaining space? […]

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 […]

When it comes to garden design for children you may have seen gardens simply turned into playgrounds with wood chip everywhere. There are ways however to subtly design a garden that makes it exciting for children without completely removing the attraction for grown-ups! Usually, people start by buying a huge set of play equipment and […]

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 […]

Garden Ninja loves small garden design where every detail must be carefully considered. Planting choices need to fit the size of the space, eating and drinking areas need to be comfortably proportioned and the colours must tie together neatly. There’s zero room for error in a small garden which makes them some of the hardest […]