Why plant-orientated gardens matter
If you’re planning a garden makeover in the UK, you’ll gain more than just curb appeal by embracing plant-orientated design. A garden that prioritises living material—trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and climbers—delivers ongoing multi-dimensional benefits to biodiversity, climate resilience, mental health, and property value. This blog explores the benefits of designing new plant-orientated gardens in the UK and gives practical design tips for implementing changes, utilising existing plants, and introducing new plant installations. It also explains why living landscapes outperform purely hard-landscaped spaces on every level.
Considerations for a beautiful border redesign
Planning a planted border redesign can transform a garden, boost aesthetics of a tired or dated outdoor space, and improve year-round interest. For UK gardens, specifically those in Essex or Suffolk, where seasonal shifts and varied soils matter, a thoughtful approach is essential. This guide walks you through border shape design, implementing changes, using existing plants, and installing new specimens—so you can execute a confident and sustainable border redesign.
Garden inspiration: garden lighting and heating
From lighting to heating, the available technology or ‘internet of things’ options are providing garden owners with ample options to extend the timespan of their garden enjoyment to all year round. This blog covers the latest options available.
Garden ideas: How to create the perfect shingle dry garden
Our increasingly dry summers are great for beach-goers, but they cause havoc across the country for gardeners. Creating a dry garden with plants for dry climates is a low maintenance option.
As a garden / planting designer who also builds landscaping projects, and living in close proximity to Beth Chatto who developed the first shingle dry garden ideas on their old carpark site, I've been very mindful to include them where possible in Hortus Pink projects.
This is for two reasons, firstly they utilise locally sourced pea shingle which is widely available throughout Essex and Suffolk; but also secondly they are really beautiful and can offer a diverse opportunity for a low maintenance garden ideas.