Bespoke Garden Design & Landscaping in Essex

Welcome to Hortus Pink, where we transform your garden dreams into beautiful, sustainable realities.

Free Initial Consultation

Creative & Practical

Services For All Budgets

About Hortus Pink

At Hortus Pink, we specialise in beautiful, sustainable garden landscaping tailored for modern living. Serving Essex and Suffolk, we offer comprehensive garden design and landscaping services, including the construction of all garden structures and the installation of sustainable planting schemes. Our aftercare packages ensure your garden stays vibrant and healthy.

Our mission is to make your dream garden achievable within any budget. Whether you're looking to create a brand-new garden or refresh an existing one, we work closely with you to deliver exciting, cohesive, and sustainable designs. We offer flexible project phases to help manage costs, allowing you to participate in the process.

We treat all our clients’ gardens as if they were our own, creating beautiful gardens with a strong sense of place and drawing inspiration from the architecture and surrounding landscape. We pay special attention to every detail to ensure complete client satisfaction, enhancing the exterior of your property, raising its value, and beautifying your outdoor space.

zoe@hortuspinklandscapes.co.uk

modern landscaped garden with wooden arches and wicker furniture

Our Services

Garden Design

Hortus Pink combine naturalism and modernity with a special focus on celebrating the planted medium, with a delicate impact on the land.

Garden design

Garden Landscaping

We keep up to date with latest design trends, construction methods and materials innovation, but always aim use local materials wherever we can.

Garden Landscaping

Planting Schemes

Each project aims to increase plant biodiversity and have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the client, the environment, and our natural world.

Planting Schemes

Garden Maintenance

Fully managed maintenance services are available throughout the Tendring and Colchester districts, with either DIY education or remote support throughout wider Essex and Suffolk.

Garden maintenance

Why Choose Hortus Pink?

Numerous Accreditations
Fantastic Reputation
Landscaping Award Nominated
Many Years Experience
Collaborative Creative Approach

07860 283761

Let’s face it, we all need a little help sometimes when it comes to generating a healthy and thriving new planting scheme. So, here are a few tips and tricks to sustaining a newly planted garden.

🦋Check out my blog post: see our website blogs or see this post on FaceBook for the link

#newblogpost #plantlover #plantsofinstagram #plantsplantsplants #plantaddict #pruning #pruningseason

Project Folkards in year 2. Some fabulous growth with the herbaceous planting, the shrubs just need another year to catch up! First few pics are from this summer, the two before the last are from this October cut back, and the last is how the garden looked at first. The brief was for a bright riot of lush colour with a tropical feel. In such a small garden it was important to keep lawn edging the patio as well.

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#essexsunshinecoast #societyofgardendesigners
#WeAreAPL

I love it when clients share their garden through the year with me. This project was planted in torrential rain in March this year. The autumn growth is looking really good, along with the shade sail over the pergola and garden lighting.

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#gardendesignersofinstagram #bbcgardenersworld #landscapegardening #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardenerslife #planthunters #landscapedesignessex #landscaping #landscapedesign #gardeninglife #essexgarden #homecounties #gardendesignideas
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Super growth on Project Norman, having just completed the build 14months ago. It was really satisfying cutting back and reshaping the planting, ready for winter. The first 2 pics are before the cut back and the last 2 pics are after. Ensuring juvenile plants don’t get flogged in winter is essential. Loving autumn 🍁🍂🕸️🍄‍🟫🥀

For more information on what we offer, from garden design and build to planting schemes and maintenance across released and Suffolk, see our website www.hortuspinklandscapes.co.uk

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#essexsunshinecoast #societyofgardendesigners
#WeAreAPL

Autumn garden jobs: October

- Cut back or tie down anything that might get flogged to death in winter. For plants that benefit from a major spring prune, now is purely the time to trim or tie down a little to prevent wind-rock (Rose, Lavatera, Buddleih, Cotinus are a few examples of this). Plan with your arborist what large shrubs and trees need pruning and when, scheduling their time now to avoid last minute diary limitations.

- There are many plants which form pretty winter interest, need winter protection or provide homes for insects, so consider what pruning should be left until spring, without overwhelming your ability to remove waste before next year’s growth starts. Many plants benefit from autumn division, including Iris, Hemercallis, Hosta, Hardy Geranium and Rudbeckia.

- Collect all fallen leaves on the lawn to prevent dead patches from lack of light. Consider if leaves in the borders will be able to mulch down and leave what you can, if they risk smothering plants then collect them.

- Have a quick weed as you go, especially as once covered soil is exposed after pruning. Tidy pots away and give your pond a bit of attention to reduce weed congestion.

- Assess your lawn quality. Dry and brown lawns, not yet recovered from scorching summer heat, need the winter to green up before scarification or a weed and feed can be done in spring.

- Also consider what areas of the garden haven’t quite worked this year and keep a note of your plans for moving plants or adding new ones in spring. Plant any spring bulbs in areas that will not flood in winter. Now is the time to plan for next year.

#gardening4health #gardeningathome #gardenmanagement #greenfingers #autumnleaves #autumn🍁 #autumnweather

New build gardens are not without their challenges. To get the ‘wow-factor’ in your new build garden, utilising a professional garden designer is worth its weight in gold.

Check out my blog post on this topic - see our website or link below in the comments.

#newblogpost #gardendesign #newbuildgarden #newbuild

Another happy client who needed some delicate work undertaken to repair failing brickwork, new patio, new pond with stream and manure for the borders.

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#essexsunshinecoast
#weareapl

When you miss the elephant in the veg patch 🙃

So lovely to hear how our client has taken to their new garden. Lots of support and flexible help is available to see the garden mature 🌺🌿🌷
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#WeAreAPL

Super progress for Project Norman2 this summer. It was built August 2023. The final photo shows the front garden before and when just planted. The outer trees and shrubs will provide much needed privacy once again, but need a little more time to grow.
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#gardendesignersofinstagram #bbcgardenersworld #landscapegardening #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardenerslife #planthunters #landscapedesignessex #landscaping #landscapedesign #gardeninglife #essexgarden #homecounties #gardendesignideas
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#WeAreAPL

Planting grids for Project Discovery - just a few examples as this project has quite a lot of varieties across the 4 planting areas (A. The main border; B. The long grass area; C. The lawn edging; and D. The sunken dry garden where the tortoise was also a key influence in providing suitable forage for him):

🌳1. Structure (trees and hedging) - Cornus Kousa, Betula Trinity College and Nigra, Magnolia Genie, Malus Indian Magic, Sorbus Aria, Carpinus Betulus.

🌿2. Body (shrubs) - Cornus Kesselringii, Photinia Louise, Cotinus Royal Purple, Arbutus Compacta, Phormium Bronze Baby, Physoparpus Lady in Red, Eleaegnus Compacta, Viburnum Opulus Roseum, Fatsia Japonica.

🌾3. Shady (long grass) - Flatleaf Parsley, Marjoram, Camassia Cusickii, Chamomile, Thyme, Chive, Astrantia Rosea, Alchemilla Mollis, Dryopteris Erythrosora.

🌸4. Sunny (dry garden and borders) - Libertia Grandiflora, Verbena Bampton, Salvia Nemorosa, Stachys Bizantina, Nepeta Six Hills Giant, Iris Action Front, Gaura Whirling Butterflies, Centaurea Lavender Mist, Sedum Herbstfreude.
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Thanks, as always, to @parkersgardencompany for the quality plants 🙏🏻
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#WeAreAPL

Garden ideas - Size matters! 10 small trees for garden landscaping.

Planting trees is a crucial investment in all landscape design. It can have huge benefits, from beautifying a garden landscape and enhancing curb appeal, to shading people or homes and providing a bit of much needed privacy. We are dedicated to designing gardens that help us live, work and invest in greener surroundings.
We always include trees in a Hortus Pink garden design. As our climate gets hotter and the ozone layer deteriorates, we need shady places to keep our skin out of the sun and enjoy spending time in our gardens at home.

Read our new blog on small tree ideas see our bio link.

#newblogpost #trees #gardendesignersofinstagram

Blog - 7 garden trends to feed your heart and nourish your soul.

The nature first wildlife garden. A mosaic network of green spaces, your garden welcomes wildlife with eco conscious considerations. A place of refuge for creatures great and small, traditional boundaries are replaced with green hedges. Heavily scented plants provide nighttime nectar for moths. Rainwater pond creates habitat for newts, frogs and dragon flies. Fruit trees bring blossom and food for wildlife. Lawn is left uncut for nettles, cow parsley and buttercup. Pathways are well-trodden routes of necessity. A secluded bench seat is a simple space to sit and watch nature. Nothing is enriched or treated as nature does what it does best, left untouched.

Any domestic garden can achieve this trend. Coordination with neighbouring spaces also adds scale to create natural corridors for wildlife. Removal of certain species and those which cannot survive unaided means you can replace them with more adaptive trees. Planting an avenue of fruit trees in a lawn with a winding natural pathway through it and leaving the grass uncut most of the year will improve bio-diversity. Trees must be planted in well considered spots, natural ponds taking rain water from guttering need to be 5 metres from a house and 2 metres from a boundary. Invasive species like elder and bramble still need management in a small domestic garden.

Read the full blog on our website, here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/10-garden-trends-to-feed-your-heart-and-nourish-your-soul

Another border refresh project completed, following our first borders delivered last year. We love a returning client!

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#gardendesignersofinstagram #bbcgardenersworld #landscapegardening #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardenerslife #planthunters #landscapedesignessex #landscaping #landscapedesign #gardeninglife #essexgarden #homecounties #gardendesignideas
#essexsunshinecoast

We had the most amazing day @tendringshow today! The Hortus Pink collaboration with @parkersgardencompany went so well. I designed the stand with a few trends in mind:

1. 🌸🌹Contemporary cottage garden - perfect yew topiary, some stunning herbaceous perennials for colour and hydrangeas.
2. 🌿🌾Culinary and shade garden - low colour ferns, grasses, acer’s and shrubs alongside the edibles.
3. 🌴🌺Mediterranean and tropical garden - high colour, big leaves and impact delivering foliage.

The @parkersgardencompany plant stock, furniture, gazebo and decorative items all looked so beautiful.

#gardenshow #tendringshow #essexgardens #essexcounty #essexbusinesswomen #gardendesignersofinstagram #plantlover

Creating a no-lawn garden blog - how to successfully bring more plants into your garden.

As a plantswoman, hard landscaping is always complimented and entirely brought to life by planting. Many think that maintaining so many plants is more time consuming than a lawn, but it really isn’t.

As rain compacts the soil and planting matures I generally weed a whole border 2 or 3 times a year - as shade from mature plants suppresses weed growth quite a bit. In between this I simply keep an eye on the edges and fronts of borders, where there is more sunlight on the soil.

I’m always assessing the borders, not just for plant health (I.e., curling unhappy leaves or pest infestation), but also for shape and form (I.e., what needs moving or adding).

Being a garden designer I adore plants in different shapes, sizes, colours, leaf shapes, seasons and styles. However it’s easy to simply be a rudderless but avid plant collector. A strong planting design theme really brings cohesion and lifts the overall aesthetic.

🌳 To read the full blog, see our website here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/creating-a-no-lawn-garden-design

Very much looking forward to the @tendringshow this coming weekend (Saturday). Hortus Pink will be participating with @parkersgardencompany for the show. Do pop in and see us for a chat about all things garden design, landscaping and planting! 🐏🐖🐄🌻🌸🌷🌾

#tendringshow #essexwomeninbusiness #essexlandscaper #essexgardendesign

Keeping your new garden in tip top condition - soft landscaping - soil enrichment and feeding.

Mulching borders is a good way to keep the soil healthy and every other year is ideal e.g. in February (as you cut back, weed and tidy the borders) in preparation for spring. This feeds the soil and helps maintain a structure able to retain moisture, nutrients and oxygen. It also smartens the border for the coming season. I avoid manure from local stables as they often add pulled field ragwort, thistles, grains and hay which all add unwanted rubbish.

For borders that can take the bulk I use mushroom compost (spent mushroom farming compost mixed with chicken and horse manure) all over the border. For borders that are full I tend to use a couple of hand fulls of 'Six Times' manure in a donut shape around the base of each plant. Both methods should avoid the plant alone above ground and just make contact with the soil.

Giving your plants a seasonal liquid boost helps them grow, done in spring and mid summer. Acid loving plants will also benefit from iron sulphate sprinkled on the soil annually (if your soil is not acidic). Adding a liquid feed to bone dry soil is ineffective. If you’re unsure what to feed, Google search to find out what the issue is - eg a hydrangea with white leaves is not healthy so Google “hydrangea white leaves problem” you will find it has an iron deficiency.

To read the full blog, visit our website here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/keeping-your-new-garden-in-tip-top-condition-soft-landscaping

Keeping your new garden in tip top condition - soft landscaping - early growth is tender and needs regular checks for support needs.

Some plants need support to protect growth from snapping, drooping or smothering other plants nearby. Often herbaceous perennials and climbing plants need the support added in spring as the new seasons growth comes through the support. Avoid adding dome support to a fully grown plant as you will damage it

Investing in steel plant support domes in different sizes is worth it as they also look nice on the border (I leave mine out all year round), especially in winter. A selection of bamboo sticks in different lengths are also useful.

Climbers need steel wire supports and regular ties to secure them to the wire. Peonies and Gaura need dome shaped support from year 2 onwards. Trees will need to have their ties moved up annually so the bottom third is the point of support. Generally shrubs will not have supports as they need to establish themselves as self-supporting, so pruning out unruly growth which could mean the plant rocks in high wind is the best method to help it establish itself properly.

Read the full blog on our website, here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/keeping-your-new-garden-in-tip-top-condition-soft-landscaping

Just putting the finishing touches on Project Discovery. The run hasn’t helped our schedule but it’s helped the plants and lawn! The tortoise area seems to be a winner for Herman. Now just need some sunshine so our clients can actually use their lovely new garden!
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Thanks as always to @parkersgardencompany for their wonderful plants, @oakleyturffarm for their rich mushroom compost and @silvertons for their building materials.
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#WeAreAPL

Blog post - 7 garden trends to feed your heart and nourish your soul.

In this blog I cover some of the most influential and adaptable garden design trends. I think it's important to understand the basis of the trend and how you can interpret it into a domestic garden setting. I have purposefully excluded trends for industrial brown-field sites and brutalist modern concepts as I think they are less likely to be built in a domestic setting. This blog covers 7 key trends and how they have artfully evolved more traditional styles:

* Nature first wildlife garden
* Modern bio-diverse cottage garden
* Woodland edge garden
* Minimalist contemporary garden
* Painterly Mediterranean dry garden
* Contemporary semi-formal structured garden
* Tropical paradise garden

Each month I will post another snapshot of this blog on social media, but if you can see the whole blog here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/10-garden-trends-to-feed-your-heart-and-nourish-your-soul

Project Woodcraft perspective illustration showing the new garden with hard and soft landscaping. This Colchester garden needs to cater for both a young family and entertaining, all with a lower maintenance requirement. There are multiple pale grey sandstone patios and pathways, sleeper lined vegetable areas and planted borders, along with improved field views and the removal of numerous old conifers and a rockery.

Keeping your new garden in tip top condition - soft landscaping watering new plants.

The first few years are the most demanding for watering.
Young plants need to establish healthy root growth in order to self sustain.

Familiarise yourself with new plants, checking for brown, crispy, curling or drooping leaves. Larger trees and shrubs need more water than smaller herbaceous perennials. Some plants prefer dryer conditions, so you will need to water them less.

Feel the soil with your fingers, checking for moisture 2-3 inches down. Borders in full sun (from morning to evening) will need more water than borders in shade through the middle of the day. Watering is ideally conducted once a week by sprinkler in the late afternoon (not the middle of the day in 30 degree heat) to completely soak the border 1 ft down, then left to dry out through the week. If you notice the odd plant needing extra watering, conduct spot watering by hose (on a gentle shower setting aimed at the soil not the leaves). Keep an eye out for fresh loose soil being moved by aggressive watering exposing the roots and recover them.

Observe rainfall and wind/sunlight conditions, stepping up the watering in a heatwave. Don’t rely on forecast rain as we often don’t get enough to deeply water the border. Generally there is no requirement to water through the 6 months of autumn through to late winter, but keep an eye on conditions.

Read the full blog on our website, here:

https://hortuspink.co.uk/blog/f/keeping-your-new-garden-in-tip-top-condition-soft-landscaping

Excited to announce that Hortus Pink have been shortlisted for the Pro Landscaper Project Awards with not one, but two entries!

Over the years we’ve worked extremely hard to provide our clients with the best service possible and this recognition means so much to us.

We look forward to the award’s ceremony. Good luck everyone!

Big thanks to @prolandscaper, the judges and sponsors. #prolandscaper #prolandscaperprojectawards #weareapl

Thrilled to have completed Project Shelly recently. Albeit unusual, we had another dream team with our client working alongside us for the build!

Project Maroondah in the ‘summer’ rain. Still very cold here in Essex, but I’m happy to see positive growth in the 2 months since planting. This garden was flooded last winter and our summer hasn’t been much better!
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Back at a Colchester site adding more planted borders. Nice to see last year’s work settling in well. 🌳🌺🌸
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#borderrefresh #plantlover #flowerpower #insects #pollinatorgarden #vibrant #colchestergarden #gardendesignersofinstagram #bbcgardenersworld #landscapegardening #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardenerslife #planthunters #landscapedesignessex #landscaping #landscapedesign #gardeninglife #essexgarden #homecounties #gardendesignideas
#essexsunshinecoast

Project Norman today (first 3 pics) in its second year following our build completion November 2022 (last 2 pics). The Cornus Kousa is resplendent. The shrubs and trees are really starting to sing 🎶
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#cornuskousa #borderdesign #loveplants #gardendesignjournal #gardendesignbusiness #landscapedesign #gardendesignersoninstagram #essexgarden

Perspective illustration for Project Cornfield.

The brief is to create a contemporary cottage garden with a timeless classic twist. The space is designed to support a family who love spending time in the garden, often well into the evening. The main theme is to entertain / have fun, along with the need to create a sense of wellbeing so the family can sit and listen to wildlife.

There will be dining for 8 people, a lounge area for 5 people, and a covered BBQ area. Raised beds, a raised pergola patio and single step platform from the living room will also bring subtle height differences.

Surfaces will be soft to touch with sustainable oak, sandstone slabs and setts and locally sourced pea shingle.
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#WeAreAPL

Sea and boat barriers along our coastline create the most beautiful architectural structures. I love using them in my garden designs with local shingle to establish a sense of place.
This particularly beautiful place is along Point Clear peninsula facing Brightlingsea. The shingle marshland is quite stunning, especially when starling murmurations flow and sweep above. (Beautiful picture by @lowboysdad).
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#pointclearessex #sealife #coastalgardendesign #gardendesignideas #sourcelocal
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#essexsunshinecoast #essexgarden #suffolkgarden

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See our latest projects on social media

Pro Landscaper Awards 2024

We are excited to announce that Hortus Pink have been shortlisted for the Pro Landscaper Project Awards with not one, but two entries in the ‘Best build under £50k’ category!

Over the years we’ve worked extremely hard to provide our clients with the best service possible and this recognition means so much to us.

Big thanks to @prolandscaper, the judges and sponsors.

07860 283761

"Good professional service from design phase to implementation. Full service including hard landscaping, garden design, planting and aftercare. Any small issues or concerns were resolved efficiently. Hard landscapers very hard working and diligent. Time taken to ensure garden and plants meet all the families needs, and good follow up."