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.

Making Garden Compost

I garden on clay soil and so adding compost once a year is essential to help break down the clay. But whatever type of soil you have using compost in the garden is hugely beneficial – and as an added bonus it is free!
When doing a garden design, I am often asked to include an area for composting in the plan. And I would encourage everyone who has a garden to try. I have been gardening for twenty five years so I know I have the formula right now, but when I first started it seemed incredibly difficult. All the books I read gave different ideas on the best way to make compost and regular turning of the compost bin involving taking a fork to the heap and mixing up the contents was recommended. But in the end I did just did my own thing and realised there are no real ‘rules.’
All you need is a reasonably large area contained with breeze blocks, wood, or even chicken wire. I have three such areas:

We bought the black plastic bin from the council a few years ago (in the background of the picture) but I found it made sludge not compost so gave up with it.
I never turn the compost that sounds like far too much work! I simply add, along with grass cuttings and other garden waste, any organic matter we happen to have from the house, for example vegetable peelings. I even add the contents of the vacuum cleaner. The only don’ts are: no meat or diary products (they can attract rats.) You can’t use just grass cuttings or the compost turns to sludge. Wait a year for it to break down. That’s it – very simple and easy.
More and more people seem to be asking me to incorporate an area for growing vegetables in a garden design. We built three brand new raised vegetable gardens over the winter and this afternoon I emptied my compost bins into the vegetable patches. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in March, it gave me a glow of hope that spring is finally on its way this year!

Design Priciples

No matter how well qualified a person is, I believe that we all need to return to the classroom from time to time to refresh our learning and re-assess basic principles. So last week I decided to go and refresh my skills and attended a course run by BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries) on the basic principles of garden design. The lectures were give by Robin Templar Williams, a leading garden designer, and it soon became obvious why Robin is a leader in his field. He was an excellent and very informative teacher who is clearly talented in garden design, but very easy to talk to and is genuinely keen to help garden designers improve their skills. I am now inspired to be even more creative when I do my garden designs in and around Oxfordshire!

The Garden in January

Although the days are still cold, there is always plenty to do in the garden this time of year. Now is a very good time of year to sow the first of the half hardy annuals, and, if you have a greenhouse other seeds can be sown.

In terms of garden design now is the best time of year to get in touch with a garden designer to discuss ideas. If you leave it till later on in the spring it may be too late to have your gardens designed and landscaped by the summer. Realistically you need to allow 3 to 6 months for the whole process from the initial consultation to the planting. So don’t delay and get in touch today!

Garden design in the snow!

I know we’re all fed up with the snow by now and anyone who works outside particularly so. But there is an upside to all this weather – it makes the garden look so very pretty. I took this photo of my garden last week:

It’s in winter that a really good garden design and structure in the garden becomes apparent, so when designing a garden this has got to be taken into consideration. Gardens are not just to be enjoyed in the summer.
Even on a day like this I get pleasure from looking at the birds, who have completely decimated my crab apple tree. In winters like this it becomes apparent why it is important to leave seed heads on perennial plants until cutting back in spring when food becomes more plentiful for the birds again.