Garden design in February

The sight of the first snowdrops in a new year never fails to make me smile, and when seen on mass in a woodland clearing, I enjoy a feeling of optimism and anticipation that spring is on it's way.

If you're huddled up indoors on these long evenings, why not try a spot of garden planning? Now is the time to let loose your creative, imaginative side and think ahead to the spring when things might be changed in your garden.

A garden designer might be able to help (and if you live in or around Oxfordshire we'd be delighted to) or you may just give a little thought now about where plants should go in the garden. This will save you lots of time in the busy spring season ahead.

Now is the time to start planning your garden design for next year

Believe it or not now is the time to start being creative and start to plan your garden next year. You may decide that you would like a garden design, in which case how do you choose a good garden designer? In Oxfordshire there are a group of garden designers who meet regularly as part of the larger umbrella organisation of the Society of Garden Designers. If you chose a registered member of this society you can be sure that the designer has passed a rigorous entrance procedure and so will be fully qualified to give you a truly professional service. However you may have to pay more for their services. The best route to this is to go via the society's own website and look for a designer near you.

Alternatively there are many garden designers who have chosen not to be in the Society of Garden Designers and the best way of making a judgement is to look at their website and see the sort of work they have done in the past. Most garden designers will come and look at your garden in the first instance for free and should be able to show you a portfolio of their work and a judgement can be made from that. Most garden designers should be able to give you references from satisfied clients. However, probably the most important criteria when choosing a garden designer is to ask yourself if you trust and like the designer and if they offer you a fair price for the work that they are offering.

Garden design blog

One of my clients has begun a blog about a garden that I have designed for them. To see how a garden that has been designed takes shape as it is built look at this link:

http://cassingtongarden.wordpress.com/

The landscaping company is 4th D Landscaping based in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

The garden in August

As the drought continues in Oxfordshire I notice that even some of my older and established shrubs have died. Most notably is a particular favourite the Salix elaeagnos or the Rosemary Willow, which I loved for its silvery foliage.

This plant was quite tricky to get hold of as garden centres don't commonly stock it. However, it's well worth the search if you are doing a garden design using a silver/white/grey planting theme as a backdrop plant. So I will be purchasing another in the autumn and next year will remember that it needs a good deal of watering!

Garden design for hot weather

One of the best parts of my job as a garden designer is to visit gardens that we designed the previous year.

Most of the plants that we planted in autumn 2009 recovered from the set-back of the severe winter with one notable exception. The lovely prostrate form of Rosemary, which I like to use in garden designs to spill over edges, have all died. So we've had to replace those and hope that they will be strong enough to survive next winter.

The latest problem in gardens that we have designed recently is the exceptionally dry weather. My advice to anyone who has put in new trees or shrubs is keep them very well watered. I keep seeing wilting plants in some gardens and they may not survive. A good soaking two or three times a week is far more valuable than a sprinkling every day. And the best time to water is either early morning or late evening when it is cooler.

In Oxfordshire, most of our lawns have turned brown, however it is not necessary to water lawns (unless they are newly laid) as grass has a remarkable capacity for regeneration once the weather turns cooler. Save precious water for borders and vegetable gardens.

The Garden in April

This is the busiest time of year in the world of garden design, and, after such a slow start, all the plants seem to be playing catch-up and the garden looks lovely.

There have been casualties over the winter in my garden and also in some of the gardens that I designed and planted in the autumn. Very sadly none of the Verbena bonariensis that made such a good show in my front garden last year seem to have survived. I know that this is the case for some of the gardens that we planted up in the autumn too so we are going back to fill in the gaps in some Oxfordshire gardens this spring!

Another casualty has been another favourite of mine, Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus' (the lovely prostrate form of Rosemary.) It should be just about to flower, but sadly not so this year in my garden.

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Gaps create opportunities and I’ve already bought some Aubretia ‘J.S. Baker’ to replace the dead Rosemary. Aubretia is a tough as old boots, looks perfect tumbling over rocks or low walls, which we have a lot of here in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds! If we do have a severe winter next year, I’m pretty sure that this new planting will survive.