Square Foot Garden Design

We are a small design studio, working closely with clients and local craftsmen, to create gardens with a long season of interest, and low maintenance requirements, fits in with the local vernacular, harmonies with the property and finished to the highest standards. The finished garden, exceeding the client’s expectations. A mixture of native and none native plants are used to support as much wild life as possible, this has an element of education for clients; the Victorians have a lot to answer too, the majority of ‘weeds’ are a vital food source for insects, which in turn attract larger forms of wild life into the garden. Organic principles are used; again education for the client is given, to avoid reaching for insecticides on the first sighting of green fly, rather cultural methods are used, hand picking, visual inspection rather than the kill all approach. The choice of plants are based on a personal plant knowledge, gained from over 10 years working as Professional Gardener, plant ecology and plant layers, this is simplified below; The plantings are layered; this can be simplified as 5 main layers, A structural layer, trees, shrubs some perennials, A seasonal colour layer, flowering plants, A bulbs layer, An infill layer, self-seeding short lived perennials A summer dormant layer, perennials which natural go dormant over the summer. By using this layering technique a natural planting with a long season of interest (plant and leaf shape, with colour from flowers), is formed, the density of plants used, cover bare soil therefore reducing maintenance time. This plant choice is match closely to the surrounding plant arch-type (woodland, woodland edge, meadows etc) this ensures the garden fits with in the local vernacular.