On winter pruning, and why it pays to wait
Most woody plants are better pruned in winter, when they are properly dormant and the structure is visible. Late January through early March is our usual window.
Notes on a parterre, ten years on
We were back in Bakewell last week to see a parterre we laid in 2016. The box has knit, the stone has settled, and the planting is doing what we hoped it would.
Choosing yew over box for hedging, post-blight
Box blight has changed the calculation. We are now specifying yew on more sites, and there are good reasons beyond the obvious.
Designing for twenty years, not twenty months
Most of the gardens we are commissioned to make are intended to mature over decades, not seasons. The brief should reflect that, and so should the design.
The case for old varieties of rose
Modern roses bloom for longer and resist disease better. We still specify old varieties on most jobs. There is a reason.
When to leave well alone
A meadow restoration in Ashbourne taught us, again, that the right move is often no move at all. Some places ask only to be watched.
Why we don't lay paving in October
There is a window for hard landscaping work, and October is on the wrong side of it. A short note on why we wait until spring.
What 'considered' looks like in a garden
It is a word we use often. Considered. Worth being clear about what we mean by it.
Spring planting: a short list
Half-finished. The plants we keep coming back to in early spring, and a few we have moved away from.
Notes from a wet October walk
Outline only. A short essay on a site visit, what we noticed, what changed our mind.