Garden Design Styles

Quick Answer A knot garden is a formal garden style based on symmetrical, interlocking patterns of clipped low hedging, traditionally planted with herbs, aromatic plants, and topiary. Originating in Tudor England, knot gardens use plants such as box, germander, thyme, rosemary, and santolina to create geometric patterns best appreciated from above. They are high maintenance […]

You’re probably ready to get stuck into creating your dream new build garden oasis. You have this brand-new green space that could become something amazing. It may closely resemble the new build example below. Then it hits you. You have no idea where to start, and every idea you have doesn’t quite work or leaves […]

Updated March 2026: So you’ve got your ticket in hand for the Chelsea Flower Show and are giddy with excitement. You can’t wait to see what’s on offer. This complete beginner’s guide covers everything from the show’s history and how to buy tickets, to insider tips from someone who has actually exhibited there. Let me […]

Mediterranean gardens are the true sun worshippers of the garden design styles. Using plants that love full sun and earthy tones, these spaces can become an oasis of calm in your back garden. Even if you aren’t blessed with a south-facing garden, you can still steal some of the principles of the hot Mediterranean garden styles and […]

🌿 Quick Answer To design a front garden, start by surveying your space for sunlight, soil type, and size. Define whether you need parking, privacy, or planting as your priority. Choose a style — cottage, formal, or low maintenance — then sketch a layout balancing hard landscaping with at least one third planting. Select layered […]

Standing at your patio doors staring out at that wedge of green space narrowing away into a sharp point, you might be wondering what possessed the original planner to carve up gardens into geometric nightmares. Triangle shaped gardens are one of those design challenges that can make even experienced gardeners throw their hands up in […]

Staring out at your perfectly square garden through those patio doors, you might be feeling distinctly uninspired. That predictable rectangle of lumpy turf bordered by fence panels on all sides probably looks less like a garden and more like a green prison yard, especially if it’s one of those typical new build plots where developers […]

“Can AI Be Used to Design My Garden?” I get asked this question almost weekly now. Someone’s uploaded a photo of their sad patch of lawn to an AI garden planner, pressed a few buttons, and suddenly they’re staring at a rendered image of what looks like the Chelsea Flower Show has landed in their […]

Staring down that narrow strip of garden stretching away from your house, you might be feeling like you’ve drawn the short straw in the garden lottery. Long thin gardens are probably the most common awkward shape in British suburbia, particularly in Victorian terraces, post-war developments, and those estate properties where developers sliced up former agricultural […]

There’s something deeply satisfying about a garden that regenerates itself, returning more generously each year with minimal intervention from you. In my three decades of designing gardens across Britain, I have seen clients’ faces light up when they discover seedlings of their favourite plants appearing in unexpected places, creating those wonderfully spontaneous drifts that define […]