Garden Design Learnings 2025

The start of a new year is alway good to reflect upon the the last. Particularly as spring is round the corner and the usual flurry of enquiries and questions. Things seem to change quite quickly these days both climatic and economically thus worth considering these three points in the context of existing or new gardens.

Irrigated hedge establishment along the exposed Shooters Hill Rd. Super dry, sunny, gravelly soil & big thirsty tree!

1) Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink! More irrigation systems have gone in this year than past. While mulching and plant selection are important to both establishment and maintenance of the garden, the variability of water supply coupled with hotter seasons appears more pronounced. Irrigation can get a bad name, principally due to amenity over-use (e.g, ornamental lawns, sports pitches), however less is more. A simple weep-hose or hose-sprinkler system with a timer is a great way to combat dry periods and when unable to attend the garden such as holidays. Particularly close the the heath the soil is very free draining due to the gravelly strata. Here clients have found great success using responsible, periodic irrigation.

2) How much?! Basically everything costs a lot these days! Professional design, landscaping and planting are value services. You pay for what you get! But quality labour availability, material costs and plant prices have all risen sharply since Brexit and COVID-19. Moreover, increasing access & restrictions such as low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) routing and access around Greenwich all factor in. While every garden project is individual

many gardens would be between £200-400/per square metre depending on the spec.

Our local choirizo & gouda rollito dealer

But a well done garden can add value to you property as well as kerb appeal along with wellbeing benefits for the users. We suggest comparing the price of your annual summer holiday versus a 5+ year garden! Lower your carbon footprint, buy some ice cream at M&S, get a good book from Waterstones and holiday in SE London instead! To quote a recent client ''this garden is life-changing''!

3) Low maintenance = High biodiversity? We've yet been asked for a high maintenance garden! We get it, most of our clients are busy professionals with modest horticultural skills. Mostly folks want their gardens to look nice but there's definitely an increase from those desiring a sustainable & biodiverse space too.

Stump with holes drilled allowing insect & fungi ingress while decomposing

The good news is both can co-exist. Actually just simply having a garden with a variety of plant species will encourage a variety of insects and subsequent bird-life. You may have also noticed more dead wood left in-situ these days. Perhaps Greenwich council is cost cutting, but dead-wood and stumps are great for bugs who turn it into soil. One super easy way to help bees is to drill a few (small, 1cm) holes into your fence post for them to shelter in. These aren't grand-designs rather biodiversity designs!