Planning a garden

Quick Answer The best pink flowers for borders include Japanese anemones, penstemons, and hardy geraniums for long summer colour, camellias and magnolias for spring drama, clematis and roses for vertical impact, and nerines for autumn interest. With the right plant selection you can have pink flowers in your garden from February all the way through […]

Silty soil is one of the most fertile and productive growing mediums available, holding moisture and nutrients in a way that suits an enormous range of plants from bold perennials and structural grasses to productive fruit and vegetables. Quick Answer The best plants for silty soil in the UK include Iris sibirica, Astilbe, Rudbeckia, Phlox […]

With the right plant choices, they can host some of the most dazzling, naturalistic planting schemes imaginable. As an RHS-qualified garden designer with over twenty years of experience, including gardens on some of the driest, sandiest plots in the UK, I can tell you that the secret is simply working with what you have rather […]

Quick Answer To plant succulents in pots, mix two thirds multipurpose compost with one third perlite or horticultural grit, choose a container with drainage holes, arrange your plants starting with a central focal point, backfill firmly, clean any debris from the leaves, then water thoroughly and allow to drain completely. The key to success is […]

You’re probably ready to get stuck into creating your dream new build garden oasis. You have this brand-new green space that could become something amazing. It may closely resemble the new build example below. Then it hits you. You have no idea where to start, and every idea you have doesn’t quite work or leaves […]

Mediterranean gardens are the true sun worshippers of the garden design styles. Using plants that love full sun and earthy tones, these spaces can become an oasis of calm in your back garden. Even if you aren’t blessed with a south-facing garden, you can still steal some of the principles of the hot Mediterranean garden styles and […]

If you have heavy clay soil and shade, your go-to plants will be hostas, ferns, astilbes, hellebores, hydrangeas, and hardy geraniums, all of which thrive in exactly the conditions many gardeners dread. These plants have evolved in moisture-retentive, nutrient-rich clay environments and tolerate low light levels perfectly, making them ideal for the UK’s many shaded, […]

🌿 Quick Answer To design a front garden, start by surveying your space for sunlight, soil type, and size. Define whether you need parking, privacy, or planting as your priority. Choose a style — cottage, formal, or low maintenance — then sketch a layout balancing hard landscaping with at least one third planting. Select layered […]

The short answer is that neither approach is universally better. What suits your garden depends on your soil, budget, mobility, the plants you want to grow, and frankly, how much effort you’re willing to put in upfront. Let me explain why you would choose a raised bed or growing directly in the ground so that […]

After presenting over 60 gardens on BBC Garden Rescue, viewers always ask me the same question: “How do you come up with designs so quickly?” The truth is, there’s a systematic process I use on every single project, the same one I teach in my online courses. Let me pull back the curtain and show […]