Larger Projects

Family home in Cookham, Berkshire.

For a variety of reasons the clients had let the garden go and were looking to get it back under control. The shape of the main bed in front of the house had been maintained but within its borders it was a free for all for all manner of shrubs, immature trees, brambles and ivy that had self-seeded or otherwise propogated themselves unhindered by fork or secateur. There were other beds around the house that also needed taming, but the main task was to clear the main bed & the bed under the kitchen window and refill with fresh soil for replanting the following Spring. It took three days with a digger to rip everything out and replace the soil but the replanted bed has been doing well ever since.

It was decided to keep the winter berry bush as a connection with the past and plant out different types of hydrangea, blue geraniums, dahlia, phlox, lupins, lavender and echinacea. Weather conditions over the past few years have proved testing with some plants faring better than others, so it remains a work in progress but there is always something to please the eye from early spring through late autumn.

The unpredictable weather aside, a fairly unique challenge faced by these clients is a fearless family of red deer that periodically help themselves to their favourite delicacy - fresh buds! They seem particularly partial to blue geraniums and roses...