https://www.facebook.com/116124688181918/

Oak and Clay Garden Design, Sevenoaks (2026)

25/08/2026

There is something gloriously absurd and absurdly glorious about Tresco Abbey Garden. Tresco Island | Isles of Scilly

In 1834, Augustus Smith began making a garden on a rocky Atlantic island, around the ruins of an old Benedictine priory. He wanted to grow plants that, by any sensible reckoning, had no business being there.

The solution was not to temper the ambition, but to alter the conditions.

Walls were built against the gales. Terraces were cut into the granite. Monterey pines and cypresses were planted in such numbers that they eventually formed great shelterbelts — in effect, a landscape planted to protect another landscape within it.

Then came the plants: South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Mexico, the Canary Islands. Specimens gathered and transported across the world, assembled on seventeen acres off the Cornish coast.

It is wonderfully unreasonable.

What struck me most was not the exoticism, impressive though it is, but the conviction behind it. Most gardens begin by asking what the conditions will allow. Tresco seems to have asked what the garden wanted to become — and then set about changing the conditions accordingly.

The Abbey ruins make the whole thing stranger still: medieval stone disappearing beneath palms, succulents and great improbable foliage. History hasn't been politely preserved at arm's length; another history has simply grown through it.

Nearly two centuries later, the experiment has become its own ecosystem.

A reminder that some of the most interesting gardens begin with an idea that really ought not to work — and somebody brave enough to see it through.

01/08/2026

"The most memorable gardens are often those that know what not to control."

I arrived at Trewithen Trewithen expecting to admire an important plant collection while feeling slightly detached from it. Instead, it became one of the highlights of my Cornwall tour.

Trewithen certainly deserves its reputation as one of Britain's great collector gardens, built on the extraordinary legacy of the plant hunters and generations of the Hawkins, Johnstone and now Galsworthy families. But what struck me most wasn't botanical rarity. It was loving restraint.

Fallen trees are left where appropriate. Cornwall's longest lawn drifts into long grass. Woodland edges feel allowed to breathe with impromptu paths into unofficial glades. The transition between cultivated garden and wider landscape is softer and more generous than many historic estates. It is less polished than your equivalent National Trust property, but paradoxically feels more magical because of it.

There is confidence in allowing nature to remain visible rather than tidying every corner into submission. That creates atmosphere—something difficult to manufacture through design alone.

Credit is due to Sam and Kitty Galsworthy, Head Gardener Gary Long and the wider team for understanding that stewardship is not simply about preserving a collection, but about evolving a landscape with sensitivity and a love of the natural world.

This was a reminder that for great gardens, design is only ever a beginning.

09/06/2026

Great Gardens of England – Have we lost the art of storytelling in our landscapes?

One of the most fascinating aspects of Stowe is that it was never designed simply as a beautiful garden. It was conceived as a journey through ideas, philosophy and mythology, with classical architecture acting as the narrative thread.

As you move through the landscape, temples, monuments and statues emerge from the trees like scenes from a story. References to ancient Greece and Rome were carefully chosen to evoke virtue, heroism, wisdom and political ideals. The Temple of Ancient Virtue celebrated figures such as Socrates and Homer, while other structures drew upon classical forms to create a landscape rich with meaning beyond its aesthetic appeal.

What strikes me most is how effectively the architecture creates a sense of place. The buildings are not isolated features; they are destinations, landmarks and focal points that guide movement through the landscape. Each framed view feels deliberate, each structure contributing to a wider narrative.

Modern gardens often focus heavily on materials, planting and styling. Stowe reminds us that the most memorable landscapes tell stories. They create intrigue, provoke thought and leave visitors with something deeper than a collection of beautiful views.

Nearly 300 years later, the mythology may not be immediately understood by every visitor, but the power of the placemaking remains undeniable.

27/05/2026

Patrick Clarke’s The Children’s Society Garden at Chelsea 2026 was a very good reminder that materials are never just technical decisions. They completely shape how a space feels psychologically.

This garden could easily have become another worthy “urban sanctuary” concept. Instead, it worked because the material palette and pergola structure genuinely created a sense of protection, calm and human scale within a relatively compact space.

The reclaimed materials immediately gave the garden emotional credibility. Nothing felt overly polished or corporate. The weathered textures, recycled steel and glass canopy introduced softness through imperfection — which is increasingly important in contemporary urban landscapes. Clients are becoming far more responsive to authenticity than showroom perfection.

The pergola itself was probably the strongest element in the scheme. Lightweight but structured, it created enclosure without heaviness. That balance is incredibly difficult to achieve. Too many pergolas either dominate a garden like a motorway service station shelter or disappear entirely into decorative irrelevance.

Here, the structure defined space properly. It framed movement, controlled light and created moments of refuge beneath it, while still allowing planting and sky to remain present. Good pergolas should do exactly this: create psychological comfort without disconnecting people from nature.

Professionally, I think this reflects a much wider shift in residential and urban garden design. Structures are becoming increasingly important as gardens evolve into multi-functional outdoor living spaces. But the best structures are no longer simply lifestyle accessories — they are architectural devices shaping atmosphere, wellbeing and how people emotionally inhabit a space.

Garden: The Children’s Society Garden
Designer: Patrick Clarke
Sponsor: .giving.back

26/05/2026

Angus Thompson’s Asthma + Lung UK Breathing Space Garden was one of the most quietly intelligent gardens at Chelsea 2026 and I think my overall favourite.

While a lot of contemporary gardens still confuse complexity with sophistication, this garden understood a far more difficult principle: restraint. The influence of Japanese spatial design — particularly the concept of ma and yohaku no bi (the beauty of empty space) — was obvious throughout the scheme.

Importantly, this wasn’t “Japanese styling” reduced to lanterns and clipped clouds. It was a deeper understanding of how structure, enclosure and negative space shape human emotion within landscapes.

The garden created moments of pause rather than constant stimulation. Accessible pathways, framed movement and the floating platform beneath the pine canopy gave people orientation and psychological calm within immersive planting. The structural elements defined how the space was inhabited without ever feeling overbearing.

That balance is incredibly difficult to achieve.

What I particularly admired was the discipline of the composition. The planting palette remained restrained and atmospheric, allowing texture, light and spatial rhythm to do the heavy lifting. Nothing felt visually noisy. The garden trusted silence — something both Japanese gardens and good architecture tend to understand far better than most Chelsea showpieces.

Professionally, I think this reflects where many high-end residential landscapes should be. Clients increasingly want gardens which reduce pressure rather than add stimulation. Spaces which feel restorative, grounded and emotionally clear are becoming far more valuable than gardens built around endless features and visual consumption.

Also reassuring to know a garden can still create atmosphere without needing an outdoor kitchen roughly the size of a Soho restaurant.

What do you think?

Garden: The Asthma + Lung UK Breathing Space Garden
Designer:
Sponsor:.giving.back
Plant Suppliers:

25/05/2026

Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden for Tate at Chelsea 2026 was a strong reminder that the best public spaces rarely rely on spectacle. They work because they understand human behaviour.

What Stuart-Smith achieved particularly well was the integration of art, planting and movement into a space which felt culturally generous rather than overly designed. The garden created moments of pause, conversation and contemplation without forcing them — which is far harder than producing another photogenic set piece for social media.

This is something great public landscapes consistently understand: people engage with nature more comfortably when there is structure, rhythm and purpose around them. Paths, thresholds, seating and framed moments become just as important as the planting itself. Good public space quietly choreographs behaviour without people noticing.

What made the Tate garden especially sophisticated was the refusal to separate art from landscape. The artistic interventions felt embedded within the spatial experience rather than treated as standalone objects dropped into a garden for cultural credibility. Nature softened the architecture; architecture gave clarity to the planting; art provided emotional and intellectual focus.

Professionally, I think this reflects a wider shift in how successful public and residential landscapes are now conceived. Gardens are increasingly expected to function as social infrastructure as much as aesthetic composition — supporting wellbeing, interaction, reflection and cultural identity simultaneously.

Importantly, the garden also demonstrated restraint. There was enough calm within the design to allow people to project themselves into the space. That confidence is surprisingly rare. Many contemporary public spaces try so hard to be memorable that they become exhausting to inhabit.

Good gardens — like good galleries — understand the value of editing.

Designer: Tom Stuart-Smith
Sponsor/Collaborator:

24/05/2026

One thing Chelsea 2026 reminded me of: if you want people to enjoy immersive naturalistic planting, you still need to tell them where to stand.

Baz Grainger’s Killik & Co ‘A Seed in Time’ Garden, built by Landform, handled this brilliantly. The wetland planting is loose and atmospheric, but it’s the structural reed forms which make the garden work emotionally. They create shelter, direction and moments of pause within what could otherwise just become “very nice swamp”.

That balance is increasingly important in contemporary garden design. Clients want nature, softness and biodiversity — but they also want comfort, clarity and spaces that instinctively feel good to inhabit. Human beings like edges. We like framed views. We like knowing where the seating goes without needing a survival course.

Professionally, it’s a good reminder that the best naturalistic gardens still rely on very disciplined spatial design underneath. Wild planting without structure is usually just gardening. Great gardens still need architecture.

Designer:
Built by:
Sponsor:

23/05/2026

RHS Chelsea Show Gardens 2026 - One of the strongest gardens at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show is undoubtedly the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s On the Edge by Sarah Eberle — a garden which demonstrates how sculpture can move beyond ornament and become the emotional architecture of a landscape itself.

Rather than treating art as an object placed into a completed garden, Eberle uses sculpture as narrative infrastructure. The central fallen-tree guardian figure — part Gaia, part eroded rural relic — becomes the conceptual anchor for the entire scheme. Water, walling, movement and planting all derive meaning from it. The sculpture is not an addition to the garden; it is the reason the garden exists.

This is something I believe the best gardens consistently achieve. Sculpture should never feel imposed or decorative in isolation. The most successful commissions emerge when artist and garden designer work symbiotically from the earliest conceptual stages, allowing materiality, scale, ecology and narrative to inform one another. A sculptural intervention should intensify the atmosphere of a place rather than interrupt it.

What makes On the Edge particularly sophisticated is the way the sculptural language dissolves into the wider landscape. Willow hair becomes dry-stone walling. Fallen timber becomes mythology. Boundary becomes habitat. The garden explores the overlooked “edgelands” between urbanity and countryside, but equally explores the blurred boundary between art and landscape architecture itself.

This is where sculpture becomes especially powerful within private gardens. Beyond visual impact, it provides emotional orientation — creating focal gravity, symbolism, memory and permanence within increasingly fluid naturalistic planting styles. In highly immersive gardens, sculpture often provides the stillness around which everything else moves.

giving.back

22/05/2026

Gardens of RHS Chelsea 2026 - In a world of noise, few garden styles understand the power of restraint quite like the Japanese garden.

As many of you will know, I have a soft spot for Japanese design and gardens. The intellectual rigour, symbolic meaning and disciplined aesthetic provides a playground for the mind, while the deep connection to nature creates an anchor for the soul.

This garden by the talented .ishihara features a range of common Japanese architectural motifs, including an exquisite traditional tea room, which I managed to have a look around.

So many elements are so simply and powerfully expressed. The journey through the garden. The framed view. The nobility of doing garden maintenance well. The space for people to switch off and be fully present.

It’s a reminder that great gardens do not always demand attention — sometimes they quietly slow the pulse and sharpen the senses.

What do you think about this traditional Japanese style?

19/05/2026

Great gardens of England — should a garden’s popularity influence our judgement of it?

is one of the country’s most beloved gardens: a romantic 1920s composition wrapped around a beautiful 17th century manor, and winner of the National Favourite Garden award by the and magazine.

And yet, walking through it, I found myself unexpectedly underwhelmed.

The underlying ideas are undeniably strong — the bones of the garden, the mature trees, the planting, the meadows — all suggest the possibility of greatness. But throughout, there was a feeling that the ex*****on never quite matched the ambition. Certain moments felt overly decorative, almost miniature in scale, undermining the romance and gravitas the setting deserved.

Compared to the compositional confidence and layered artistry of or , it lacked that sense of inevitability that defines truly enduring gardens.

But perhaps that is the interesting lesson: popularity and design excellence are not always the same thing.

And still — there were moments of genuine magic. The beech woodland carpeted in bluebells was quietly extraordinary, and one of the most beautiful scenes of the entire tour.

Oak and Clay Garden Design

25/08/2026

01/08/2026

09/06/2026

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

25/05/2026

24/05/2026

23/05/2026

22/05/2026

19/05/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Listing takedown request