Category Archives: Landscape Design

Oxford College of Garden Design 2011 Student Exhibition

A couple of overdue errands in Oxford provided the perfect excuse to visit the Oxford College of Garden Design 2011 Student Exhibition yesterday.  It was a great opportunity to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in a while, and … Continue reading

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Spring Planting

It feels like spring is here, so it’s high time I got back to writing something about garden design, rather than assorted bees and beetles. This is a quite superb scene I snapped at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire last year.  … Continue reading

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“My Garden School” goes Live!

This may be the news you’ve been waiting for……. John Brookes MBE, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential garden designers of the 20th Century, is just one of the renown experts who have teamed up … Continue reading

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Choosing a Landscape Architect or Garden Designer

I’m sometimes asked about the difference between a landscape architect and a garden or landscape designer, and how to choose one to design your garden. First, I want to say that there are lots of good landscape architects and lots … Continue reading

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Hedge Trimming Time

Today we trimmed the Cupressocyparis leylandii hedge that runs along the front of our garden, so it seems timely to write a few notes about hedge trimming. A well maintained hedge is a smart looking boundary, and provides both privacy … Continue reading

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Planting for Winter Interest

The recent early snow is perhaps a good cue to think about the garden’s appearance in winter. It is a common mistake to asume that, once the first frosts come, visual interest in the garden is over until next spring. … Continue reading

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Soil Structure – and the importance of preserving it!

There are plenty of reasons why homebuilders and renovators should pay attention to garden design, even before they start building work, but one keeps nagging at me – preserving the soil structure during construction. We’ve all seen the quagmire that … Continue reading

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Autumn Planting

I guess its about time I wrote something about gardening, so here goes. With autumn colours spreading through woodlands, and some trees and shrubs already loosing their leaves, you might be forgiven for thinking there’s not much interest left in … Continue reading

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Nature’s Autumn Harvest

I was planning to write about planting for autumn interest, but I got distracted while walking the dog – I just picked a whole bag of sloes.  I find it curious that there are such copious quantities of sloes still … Continue reading

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Sculpture in the Garden

I’m hoping to be able to attend Jilly Sutton’s forthcoming masterclass at the Oxford College of Garden Design, on the 11th November.  The OCGD masterclasses are great opportunities to hear first-hand from internationally renown experts, and attendance is not just … Continue reading

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