A big change has happened in the Greenbook world – we’ve moved! Both the business and our lives have made the exciting journey down to Exeter, Devon, a place that’s close to our hearts. It’s also where Chris first picked up his gardening tools and discovered his passion for all things gardens. With its rolling […]
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Garden designers naturally have a real interest in how their actions impact the spaces they work in. But as responsible designers, we also need to understand how these actions impact the wider world.
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It really is possible to live the dream, without spending wheelbarrow loads of money or having lots of experience and knowledge.
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New team member alert! 🪴
Now that Jude is nearly 5 months old, it is time to get him designing.
…as you can see he’s very advanced for his age, having already mastered @vectorworks and will be winning Chelsea golds before you know it 😆
Can I enter him for @prolandscaper 30 under 30 yet?
Inspiration photo dump from our holiday to Andalusia. We travelled across the bottom of the Sierra Nevada mountains and then up to Granada.
We went over for a friends wedding (which was the best) and then spent a few days after having a little holiday. I couldn’t help but take snaps of plants here there and everywhere…
It’s so refreshing to go abroad and see plants in a totally different environment to what we have here in the Uk. The contrasting textures in managed gardens were so beautiful and then the natural plant mixes found on hillsides were equally as striking!
Always good to have a breather, take your head out of work for a moment and remember why you get so excited about plants 😂🪴.
P.s spare a thought for Zoe and Jude who were having to put up with me stopping the car every 5 minutes on random mountain sides, looking at random messy shrubs and grasses!
Inspiration photo dump from our holiday to Andalusia. We travelled across the bottom of the Sierra Nevada mountains and then up to Granada.
We went over for a friends wedding (which was the best) and then spent a few days after having a little holiday. I couldn’t help but take snaps of plants here there and everywhere…
It’s so refreshing to go abroad and see plants in a totally different environment to what we have here in the Uk. The contrasting textures in managed gardens were so beautiful and then the natural plant mixes found on hillsides were equally as striking!
Always good to have a breather, take your head out of work for a moment and remember why you get so excited about plants 😂🪴.
P.s spare a thought for Zoe and Jude who were having to put up with me stopping the car every 5 minutes on random mountain sides, looking at random messy shrubs and grasses!
SWIPE to see a new project that I’m very proud of!
This garden was a challenge to design as it had to be designed around some large existing features, mainly the pool, pond, and obviously the strong architectural home. It is all pulled together with some new hard landscaping features, curved pathways and heaps of planting 🪴
This garden was only planted in the middle of this hot summer, so next year it is going to really burst into life!
The main features of the design are a curved cantilevered @millboard_live_life_outside deck, overhanging the revitalised pond. @johnstonelandscapes did an amazing job of this.
Masses of new planting, both front and back, help to ground the house into its surroundings.
The existing trees are now underplanted with a matrix of woodland edge plants!
There’s an edible meadow alongside the deck. Taking inspiration from the RHS Chelsea garden I co-designed with @sidhillecogardens
A favourite piece is a bespoke curved iroko bench that I built with my main man Joe, this wraps around a stunning fire pit and some precision radial setts that @johnstonelandscapes installed.
The driveway has been re-worked with large Fagus topiary and contemporary block planting of grasses. Then a shady overhang with picture frame windows into the house is underplanted with a shade loving matrix and tree ferns. I can’t wait to see this develop in time.
@johnstonelandscapes & I have worked together for a few years now, making the build such an enjoyable and collaborative process, and of course they tackled any on site challenges with ease. Thanks @johnstone_landscapes_jake 👌
SWIPE to see a new project that I’m very proud of!
This garden was a challenge to design as it had to be designed around some large existing features, mainly the pool, pond, and obviously the strong architectural home. It is all pulled together with some new hard landscaping features, curved pathways and heaps of planting 🪴
This garden was only planted in the middle of this hot summer, so next year it is going to really burst into life!
The main features of the design are a curved cantilevered @millboard_live_life_outside deck, overhanging the revitalised pond. @johnstonelandscapes did an amazing job of this.
Masses of new planting, both front and back, help to ground the house into its surroundings.
The existing trees are now underplanted with a matrix of woodland edge plants!
There’s an edible meadow alongside the deck. Taking inspiration from the RHS Chelsea garden I co-designed with @sidhillecogardens
A favourite piece is a bespoke curved iroko bench that I built with my main man Joe, this wraps around a stunning fire pit and some precision radial setts that @johnstonelandscapes installed.
The driveway has been re-worked with large Fagus topiary and contemporary block planting of grasses. Then a shady overhang with picture frame windows into the house is underplanted with a shade loving matrix and tree ferns. I can’t wait to see this develop in time.
@johnstonelandscapes & I have worked together for a few years now, making the build such an enjoyable and collaborative process, and of course they tackled any on site challenges with ease. Thanks @johnstone_landscapes_jake 👌
My favourite late summer colour plants in this scheme are: Echinacea ‘Pretty Parasols’ Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ Scabiosa columbaria Obviously the Salvia too 😂
This is one of my recently planted gardens on the edge of Dartmoor.
The clients wanted colour and that’s what they’ve got! Perennial colour through the seasons with some evergreen shrubs and topiary to keep the scheme strong through winter.
The stonework and hard landscaping provides such good structure to show off the planting. Can’t wait to see it develop next year.
Some people hate yellow flowers for some reason… What do you think? (I love them 👌)
Plants from @foliumandflosplants Photos by @jacobgibbinsphoto
My favourite late summer colour plants in this scheme are: Echinacea ‘Pretty Parasols’ Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ Scabiosa columbaria Obviously the Salvia too 😂
This is one of my recently planted gardens on the edge of Dartmoor.
The clients wanted colour and that’s what they’ve got! Perennial colour through the seasons with some evergreen shrubs and topiary to keep the scheme strong through winter.
The stonework and hard landscaping provides such good structure to show off the planting. Can’t wait to see it develop next year.
Some people hate yellow flowers for some reason… What do you think? (I love them 👌)
Plants from @foliumandflosplants Photos by @jacobgibbinsphoto
I’m very proud of this garden. I only planted it a few months ago and it is now flourishing! This garden was all about the planting and I think it compliments the surroundings perfectly.
This is just a small section of the garden. Shall I share some more?!
I’m very proud of this garden. I only planted it a few months ago and it is now flourishing! This garden was all about the planting and I think it compliments the surroundings perfectly.
This is just a small section of the garden. Shall I share some more?!
It took a lot of head scratching to get it right but I’m so proud of how this bench turned out. Joe and I spent a couple days making this, using Iroko boards that tapered out to the radius of the seating area.
All fixings are hidden and screwed from the steel behind. Lovely curved steel frame made by @taurusfabrications
The fire pit is the perfect centre piece for it.
@johnstonelandscapes @johnstone_landscapes_jake have now finished even more landscape works around it so I can’t wait to share more clips with you soon.
Would you like one of these in your garden? Or do you prefer something more traditional? Let me know!
It took a lot of head scratching to get it right but I’m so proud of how this bench turned out. Joe and I spent a couple days making this, using Iroko boards that tapered out to the radius of the seating area.
All fixings are hidden and screwed from the steel behind. Lovely curved steel frame made by @taurusfabrications
The fire pit is the perfect centre piece for it.
@johnstonelandscapes @johnstone_landscapes_jake have now finished even more landscape works around it so I can’t wait to share more clips with you soon.
Would you like one of these in your garden? Or do you prefer something more traditional? Let me know!
