The house had been lowered quite considerably in order to achieve the height required
which meant that the garden walls were very dominating. Part of the brief was to hide/
distract from the walls. This was achieved by not only using climbers on the walls but by also
using varied verticals accents of different heights for example; bespoke arches, pleached
hornbeam and pencil thin cypress trees.

The main climbers used for screening were Wisterias, Trachelospernum jasminoides,
Hydrangea, Solanum and climbing roses in variety.

Wisterias, Trachelospernum, Pittosporum tobira’ v’, Lilacs, Philadelphus, lavender, roses
were used for scent, Penstemon, Salvia, Geranium, Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, Caryopteris,
Phlomis russeliana; shrub roses, Tulips and Alliums in variety were used for long
successional flowering periods.

Magnolia stellata, Camelia, Azalea were planted to give structure and spring interest.

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The soil needed a lot of improvement with manure and compost and the existing plants needed some professional attention.

The new planting scheme was to include pinks, purples contrasting with yellows and deep oranges to add a freshness to the existing foliage and flowers.

We created a new box parterre under planted with Penstemons which give colour from June through to November with regular deadheading. This adds repetition and continuity with the existing cottage style borders and layout.

The seating area is more welcoming with soft pinks and purples and scent from May through to August to include evergreen Jasmine.

The garden is now full with successional colour and winter structure.

The gallery below shows photos before and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger picture.

However some of the plants that seem to get bad press are actually very good for specific problem areas. I like to call them the Marmite plants of the Garden design world.

I have listed a few of these so called Marmite plants that I have used several times in my planting plans and schemes.

Bergenia – Elephant ears is probably one of the most disliked plants that I have come across.
To be honest, I can see why because more often than not it is neglected, ignored and looks terrible.
It is a great plant in the right place and offers much needed year round foliage and colour in early spring. It does require a tidy up throughout the year but combined with other plants such as Phormium, Euphorbia, Paeonia, Hellebores, Brunnera m. ‘Jack Frost’ and bulbs such as Snowdrops, Muscari and miniature daffodils it can look enchanting in flower. It is a tough ground cover plant and is useful at the base of shrubs in dry conditions.

I have used various Bergenias in my planting designs. The purple leaves are a wonderful contrast beneath the small silver leaves of Cotoneaster franchetii especially front of border by paths or paving where the soil tends to dry out. The cerise flowers of Bergenia ‘Bressingham Ruby’ in early spring adds a much needed dose of colour which is accentuated by the silvery matt leaves of the Cotoneaster and used sparingly and with sensitivity can create a very successful combination.

From a garden design point of view Bergenias are incredibly useful at accentuating curves. They are a useful evergreen perennial which helps to hold a garden scheme together in the dull winter months in a country garden with long, sweeping, curved borders or in a London shady courtyard.

There are many to choose from and some are more appealing than others.

Bergenia Overture – has rich purple leaves tinted red/purple in autumn and winter, wonderful cerise flowers in spring.

Sedum spectabile – is another frowned upon plant and although easy to grow it has this habit of sprawling and flopping in a very untidy manner towards late summer when in flower.

There are reasons why it does this; firstly it does not like over rich, wet soil, so keep the organic chicken pellets, other fertilisers and mulch away. It needs to be baked in full sun not part shade.

I have taken to cutting it back in May by a quarter; this seems brutal but lends itself to a much bushier, shorter plant and significantly reduces ‘the sedum flop’. The flowers appear a little later and are smaller, but a much more compact look is achieved.

Slugs can also ruin a perfectly beautiful sedum, so keep an eye out for them.

I have used this plant many times in planting plans especially in poor soil in a sunny garden. It is a vibrant plant which bursts into colour in late summer, a much needed splash of varying pinks in a border combined with Lavender, Japanese anemones, Verbena bonariensis and Stipa gigantea. It is much loved by bees and butterflies; so a must for a wild life garden.

Aucuba japonica – Spotted laurel – This gets a really negative reaction, some call the variegated cultivars ‘the sick bush!’

I have used it in a few planting schemes as an evergreen backdrop in a shady area to show off other more exciting plants. It is a great foil for white flowers and can cope with really tough conditions especially dry shade. Planting companions such as Choisya ternata, Hellebores, Acers and spring flowering bulbs are very successful in a dry shady border.

As a Garden designer, I try to use plants that will be successful especially in tough places and think about the planting scheme as a long term project, not instant gratification.

Please note that if you do have a dry shady border, an annual layer of organic mulch (Horse manure based if possible) will greatly improve the soil, retain moisture and give your existing plants a new lease of life and new plants a better chance establishing.

Vinca – Periwinkle – I am often told it boring and invasive; however variegated Vinca offer excellent ground cover with lovely white or purple flowers intermittently.

It is another tough, low maintenance, evergreen plant which copes remarkably well in dry shade and establishes very quickly. Avoid the major varieties as they are a true garden thug unless you have a large area that needs ground cover and stick to Vinca minor ‘Argenteovariegata’. I have designed and planted a few troublesome borders in dry shade with companions such as; Hellebores, Cyclamen, hardy ferns and spring flowering bulbs.

Roses – High maintenance is the most common complaint. Many people are nervous about putting roses in their garden. They do require feeding regularly, preventative sprays for black spot, mildew, aphids and the rest. If you are a keen gardener they are such a delight and offer colour and scent especially in July and August which can be lacking in interest as other plants are getting ready to bloom in late summer.

I also find that people tend to plant them alone; they do need companions to disguise their sometimes leggy habit and to set off their flowers. Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurscens’ and Alchemilla mollis make great front of border plants with shrub roses, some grasses work really with the shrub roses such as the Pheasant tail grass and Deschampia. Shrub Roses are well situated in the middle layer of a mixed border.

I like to use Climbing roses in my planting schemes as they are really useful combined with various Clematis and Wisteria for vertical successional flowering.

An annual layer of Horse manure or compost mulch in early spring will greatly improve the growth, health and flowering of roses.

The planting was to include specimen trees, year round colour and winter structure. The use of successional flowering perennials and bulbs really enhanced the garden and gave wonderful colour for long periods of time.

Purples and blues were used to contrast and soften the gold’s, oranges and pinks in the mixed borders.

Long avenues of specimen trees with scented blossom, divided the large green space to create lovely walk ways, Lavender was used near the house in box parterres under planted with red tulips and Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’.

The gallery below shows photos before and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger picture.

It required some fresh ideas, new planting and soil improvement due to two really harsh winters. We needed to replant certain areas in the borders with more deciduous shrubs and perennials to be able to withstand a tough winter being such a young garden.

The garden has year round colour to include wildlife friendly planting and winter structure.

Vivid colours work really well with the existing black recycled decking, and a mix of grasses, bulbs and perennials soften the angles of the borders.
It is now a haven for bees and butterflies.

The gallery below shows photos before and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger picture.

A beautiful multi stemmed Betula as a focal point in the middle. This is low maintenance and very sophisticated.

The gallery below shows photos of the completed project. Please click on each one to see a larger picture.

The soil was heavy clay and there was an awkward fence around the existing lake that needed some subtle disguise. Winter interest with a low maintenance approach was the idea around the lake and to create a curved mow path to allow tractor access.

In front of the fence area we created a lush mixed border with year round interest. The colours the client loved are pinks, blues oranges and purples with a natural cottage feel  with grasses. We had to move a large existing bed of struggling rhododendrons to a more suitable site out of the full sun. This project was very hands on and soil preparation was key to a successful planting scheme.

The gallery below shows photos before, during and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger photo.

The idea behind the design was for the very modern house to sit comfortably within the garden and to be dramatic, bold and architectural.

To create movement and flow with areas of formality combined with a more natural look. A maze in the shape of a crop circle was a feature with hidden seating areas in the front garden. A child’s play area was hidden behind planting to house a climbing frame and swings.

The gallery below shows photos before, during and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger photo.

The new planting needed to soften all aspects of the lake and new waterfalls, which looked rather stark and heavy in the setting without planting. The hard landscaping needed to sit comfortably within the existing landscape.

The ideas for the planting were to create a feeling of continuity, movement and flow using very soft planting combined with dramatic foliage, and multi stemmed trees with evergreen structure for winter interest. Bold drifts of grasses and perennials seemed to work well on plan combined with dogwoods in variety. Dramatic architectural foliage plants such as Acer, Gunnera, Rheum and Rodgersia worked really well to soften the harshness of the new waterfalls, under planted with existing Primulas and other marginal plants.

Drifts of aquatic, marginal plants were planted around the lake to include varieties of Iris.

The gallery below shows photos before and after the project. Please click on each one to see a larger photo.

In spring there is an abundance of colour with Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’, Euphorbia Griffithii ‘Fire Glow’ and the acid green flower heads of Euphorbia c. subsp. wulfenii and other euphorbia combined with a variety of bulbs to include Snow drops, Narcissus, Tète a Tète, Muscari, Chinodoxia and Alliums. The Rhododendrons, Camellia add amazing colour and the dogwoods look fresh with the emergence of new leaves.

In summer the garden takes on different hues, there is tranquillity with the blues/purples of the Pervoskia, Lythrum and Verbena for a short time then the summer perennial fireworks dramatically kick in to include Crocosmia Lucifer, Rubeckia, Helenium, and Hemerocallis with the gold seed heads of the many varieties of grasses. Ground cover such as Alchemilla mollis, Persicaria in variety, Bergenia, Liriope, Hellebore and Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ add additional colour through the seasons.

In autumn the garden is again very dramatic, with bold colours of reds, purple, black and gold. The Rubeckia in autumn look very dramatic with the back seed heads against the vertical gold of Calamagrostis a. Karl Foerster. The colour of the Acers changing is a site to see.

In winter the coloured stems of the various dogwoods look fantastic with the gold grasses, Betula and perennial seed heads. There is enough structure throughout the winter with the Hellebores combined with the dogwoods, the evergreen shrubs to include Euphorbia, Rhododendron, and Cotoneaster franchettii.

The addition of mature trees adds height, structure, interesting bark texture as well as spring flowers and blend well with the existing trees.