Hire an expert: Enhance your planting

With the cold winter and then extremely wet spring we have had, it isn’t at all surprising that plants are suffering in borders. Every garden I have visited over the last few months has lost plants – some that are usually hardy – to the bad weather.

So now the growing season is in full swing but not everything is popping back up. Time to fill some gaps then. This is how I would go about doing so with a client’s requirements in mind…

Step 1: Consultation
The first step is to talk to the most important figure in your garden, and thats you! You know what you like, and what you don’t – and even if you don’t know anything about gardens, there will be something you have a preference for in some way, and I am here to tease that out and help come up with a plan that you will love. All my work is client focused, and I strive to always work to your requirements.

Step 2: Survey the garden / border
If the whole garden is to be revitalised I would require a survey of the whole garden to give me the correct measurements to work from. I also need to identify soil type, aspect, and a whole host of other things that go into making sure the planting is suitable. This is an important first step to get right.

Gardens over a certain size or complexity will require a survey by a professional surveyor. Smaller gardens and borders I survey myself.

Step 3: Design phase
The survey is drawn up and where applicable turned into a 3D render to help you visualise your new garden. If its just a planting design for a border you are looking for then generally a 2D planting plan is produced, along with a document listing all plants selected with pictures and other useful and interesting information.

Step 4: Planting
Once you have signed off on the design, its time for planting! I work with excellent suppliers to get the best quality plants out there, at a reasonable price. I tend to do all the laying out and planting myself. And then you get to enjoy your new garden, without gaps or difficult spaces. Enjoy!