Garden makeover

This time last year I started to design a front garden. The owners had just had a lot of overgrown Lelandii trees removed and asked me in to advise about suitable replacement (we decided on hornbeam) and for a complete re-design. We felt that a more formal garden with an integral water feature would be more in keeping with the character of the property

We finished planting the garden on a cold, wet miserable day in December. But having visited again yesterday, consider it every bit worth all the effort:

See full details of this project at http://www.combegardendesign.co.uk/

Wisteria Sinensis: the perfect plant for a pergola?

The view from my kitchen window looks like this at the moment with the Wisteria Sinensis hanging down from the pergola, which is, I think, the best way to grow Wisteria. The flowers are exactly where I want them to be i.e. at eye level. Gardeners (and particularly gardeners who are garden designers) should learn from their triumphs as well as mistakes and whilst the Wisteria looks really good here, the Rosa 'Golden Showers' above it is a problem. And that is the problem, it's ABOVE the pergola, about to put on a spectacular show for the birds. I just hope they appreciate all the effort that went into pruning it. So, what can I learn from this mistake? Simply that climbing roses are better trained against walls or fences and Wiseria is the perfect plant for a pergola.

The dos and don't of a little home work

Saturday's Daily Telegraph had an article that will be of interest to home owners who are trying to decide which DIY projects will add most value to their property.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/5296466/Do-home-improvements-boost-the-value-of-your-property.html

In the world of garden design we are seeing more and more clients these days who have decided to improve not move, so it was interesting to read that spending £900.00 on landscape gardening could give an overall benefit of £6,000.00. Check out our web site for many ideas on how you could improve your garden and add value to your property, as well as creating something of lasting beauty.