Outdoor living and connecting with nature reduces stress levels and make you feel happy. It has even been suggested that gardening should be prescribed to patients through the NHS. Now that summer has arrived decamp outside to your garden, soak up the sunshine and enjoy the long light evenings. Grow Get your kids to connect [...]
We all know first impressions are so important and the same is true with our homes. A beautiful, inviting and well maintained front garden sets the scene for how the rest of the house is likely to look and this can add value to your property. With this in mind, it is surprising how often [...]
I am currently designing a couple of gardens where the views out across East Lothian and the coast are to die for. The downside is that the garden owners are rarely able to enjoy them from the garden as it is usually too windy to sit out and relax. Here are a few tips if [...]
Water is central to many gardens. Japanese gardens have natural pools with stepping stones and bridges and geometric Persian paradise gardens have formal rills. By including a water feature in your garden, you can turn an ordinary garden into a far more enticing space. We have just completed a garden in East Lothian with a contemporary [...]
We all love getting outdoors on those balmy summer days and chilling out with a glass of wine as the sausages sizzle on the barbecue on the sun-drenched patio. However Scottish summers can be all too fleeting. How good would it be to enjoy the outdoors, without getting soaked to the skin, hypothermia or your [...]
We have just wound our clocks forward for spring. It's time to shake off that duvet we have been hibernating under through the winter months. Flinging open those shutters, we can breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the vibrancy of the world springing back to life. Not to mention those long light evenings! Spring [...]
Mien Ruys Garden Earlier this month, a group of us garden designers had a sneaky trip to the Netherlands to visit Mien Ruys garden for a bit of garden design inspiration. Mien Ruys was an exceptional and inspirational garden designer and she is a true icon of mine. She studied garden architecture in Berlin in the 1920s [...]
I spent an inspirational day last week wondering round the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show with my Aunt and Uncle. It was jam-packed with inspiring gardens full of landscaping ideas, sublime planting schemes and new plants. These garden ideas can easily be taken and incorporated into our own gardens at home. The Red Thread Garden [...]
Too much of a good thing... I’m sure we’ve all guzzled on too many sweets and chocolates that have been cloying and hollow pleasure. They leave us feeling quite sick at the end of the day. In contrast, we may prefer to nibble on snacks with a more savoury note such as cheese, olives and [...]
If your winter garden is looking a wee bit drab and uninspiring at the moment, chances are that it was planned out over the summer months when folk are outside enjoying the sunshine. If you can make your garden to look good in winter, it is likely to look great throughout the year. Here are [...]
