The Dry Garden East Kent
The stark industrial architecture of this old colliery building inspired a dry garden of blackish tones to be mixed with bronze straws, golds and burgundy. While here and there rocks and rusted sculptural steelworks help link the garden to aspects of its long lost provenance.
The Workplace Car Park Aylesham, Kent
The brief here was to transform a blank north-facing strip of ground, below office windows, into something beautiful all year round, with low care needs and which didn't grow tall and obscure the view across the car park, as it was useful to watch out for the arrival of delivery lorries
By using three tiers of wooden sleepers I brought the planting close to eye-level, as seen from the windows. This also enabled the plants to benefit from more light in this otherwise heavily shaded area, and created this pleasant walkway, where workers could take a break and pick the odd strawberry and watch the pollinators at work
The owner wanted this to stand-out from the everyday car park planting. It was a real pleasure to bring in an abundance of colours, textures and forms.
Drawing-in the Gardener Canterbury, Kent
The brief here was to transform this semi-bulldozed sloping site in a village south of Canterbury into an abundant, colourful and enclosing garden, with enticing pathways and secret spots to retreat to and unwind in.
The Urban Beach Garden Walmer, Kent
My brief here was to bring in plants that would conjure a beachy-garden feel in this otherwise inert space.
Using a sparing pallet of greens, browns and greys, as per the owner's instructions, I combined planting into pots with planting straight into the ground. The use of pots allowed for some of the more tender plants to be moved for winter protection.
The Chalk Bank Canterbury, Kent
The owner's brief was to make this steeply sloped chalky bank a garden border that was rich with texture and colour, to enjoy from the outdoor seating.
Here drought and alkaline-tolerant plants ensure interest and cover for wildlife throughout the year. I advised a maintenance plan to collect the beech leaves that fell on this border annually, turn them into leaf mould elsewhere in the garden and then reapply as mulch to conserve moisture and improve the chalky soil health and structure.
The Hen Border Stone Street, Kent
A north-facing area of lawn, shaded from the south by tall evergreen trees, and a narrow strip to lightly enclose the garden and screen the parked cars.
Ornamental grasses catch the low angled light, while verbena, eupatorium, roses and asters provide year-long interest and an array of seedheads, which accompany the golden grasses beautifully, long into the winter. Care was taken to choose plant species that would thrive on the existing shady clay soil, naturally fertilised by hens.
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