Our gardens are getting smaller these days, but they can still be a valuable space for getting outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and connect with nature. Here are 5 tips for designing a small outside space that packs a punch. 1. Built in seating Work out what you want from your space, then distil your [...]
If your garden looks drab and uninspiring at this time of year, it may have been planned in the sunny summer days. But if you can get your garden looking great in winter, it will give you pleasure throughout the year. Here are 5 tips for creating a winter garden. 1. Create a garden with [...]
Getting your garden designed is a valuable investment. As Benjamin Franklin stated “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”. Here are 5 benefits of working with a garden designer to create your new garden. 1. Garden design concept Firstly, a designer will help you by developing a design [...]
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 [...]
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 and can shake off that duvet we have been hibernating under. Fling open the shutters and breathe the fresh air. Enjoy the vibrant world springing back to life. At last we can enjoy those long light evenings! Spring is also the start of the Japanese [...]
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 [...]
