How and where to buy wholesale plants in the UK There is an enormous choice of wholesale plants in the UK.  From independent nurseries like Avensis Perennials, Babylon Plants, and Farnham Common Nurseries, to large wholesale/retail nurseries like Hillier, Kingsdown or  Evergreen.  For trade only consider nurseries like Coblands, Palmstead, Premier Plants or North Hill.  You may have to pre-order, as some nurseries are only open by appointment.  While some like Hillier, Coblands, and  W Godfrey & Sons offer a select & collect service, allowing you to hand-pick your wholesale plants. Types of Plant Nurseries If you are looking for specimens trees/shrubs (usually Italian grown) with a limited selection of herbaceous plants, try Riverside Nurseries, Premier Plants or  Classiflora.  They have a relatively limited choice and you won’t get anything out of the ordinary.  For specialist nurseries try Trehane Camellias or Millias for rhododendrons and azaleas.  Avoid specifying plants that are hard to get hold of.  There is no point is using rare exotics that only a few nurseries grow.  As the chances of them being out of stock, are much higher than if you use common plants creatively.  If you’re looking for herbaceous plants and grasses Knoll Gardens have an excellent choice, as does Beth Chatto via mail order.  And for pond plants, Aqualife provides pond plants to be trade and retail. There is also a new breed of nursery or should i say sourcing company that is also starting to appear on the market.  If you are looking for large quantities of plants for a single source you may be interested in companies like FlorAccess Another great source for whole plants is the online landscape supply index External Works Questions to Ask Some of the questions you should ask when first visiting a wholesale plants nursery are:- Do […]

Our Planting Design Diploma Book List is by no means definitive, but has been compiled as a reference to some of the best planting design books currently available.  Some are now out of print but still current, while others are still very much available.  They cover both domestic, as well as commercial planting.. If you are interested in planting design, plant associations, landscape design or garden design, we recommend you study as many of these as possible. Complete Planting Design Course: The definitive planting design course The book takes a comprehensive approach to the complex process of Planting Design. It shows how to choose and combine plants for specific effects: for year-round colour and interest; for drama and movement; and to overcome site difficulties. From the initial vision to finished planting, the book clearly explains the practical steps, considerations, opportunities, and decisions that need to be taken. This process can be applied to readers’ own gardens, and it will also allow them to take their skills further into other people’s gardens. The Garden Colour Book This is the same book (just the US version) as “Garden Colour Palette” published by Conran Octopus. It is excellent if you are planting a new garden or re-designing beds. I thought I would post this just in case anyone might order both – I get so frustrated if I end up with two of the same book just because the book was re-published under a different title or has different titles in different markets. Dream Plants for the Natural Garden A great source of reference for the natural gardener, this comprehensive compendium classifies 1200 plants according to their behavior, strengths, and uses. Join pioneering garden designers Henk Gerritsen and Piet Oudolf as they describe their ideal perennials, bulbs, grasses, ferns, and small shrubs, explaining […]

John Brookes Landscape Designer passed away yesterday at his home, at Denmans Nr Fontwell West Sussex.  He was 84. This article was written as a result of an interview that took place back in 2008 but was never published.  It briefly documents John’s extraordinary career and why his work had such a profound influence on both my life and thousands of other landscape and garden designers. – RIP John John Brookes -Early Influences The response of British gardens to modernism was slow for many reasons, but was in part, due to the fashionable Arts and Crafts movement. The English Landscape Architect Geoffrey Jellicoe (1900-96) was, in his early years, quite alone in his exploring and adopting of modern art and modernism in his designs and his growing interest in the concept of the unconscious, which he gained from the abstract art of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Paul Klee. It was between 1957-60 that Jellicoe befriended John Brookes and encouraged his interest in modern art and the works of expressionist artists such as Willem de Kooning, Ben Nicholson and Piet Mondrian. John Brookes started linking colours, shapes and patterns to planting plans and the allocation of space and strength of shape into garden designs. It was about this time that Thomas Church sent a copy of his book “Gardens are for people” to Sylvia Crowe. Brookes, who worked for her, saw and read the book and was impressed and fascinated by the simple line drawings, with their geometry forming shapes and contemporary patterns reflecting the modern and contemporary feel of the artists he had been following. In Brazil, it was Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994) that was an influence on John. His use of new materials such as natural stone and concrete and also his abstract designs. Burle Marx had worked […]

Outdoor steps are a design opportunity. On any site with significant level differences, the design of changes in level is important for appearance, convenience and safety. The size and shape of outdoor steps in new buildings is governed by the local Building Regulations. This control is mainly directed at disabled access to the main entrance but there is always a legal obligation to design safely. The rise and going (tread) dimensions of a formal flight of stairs should be constant. An unexpected difference of only 15mm in the riser can cause people to stumble. As these trees grow and leaf out, there will be such a fabulous contrast between the grey and the green. The lighting is placed so strategically and highlights the upward movement of the space. People quite rightly expect that formal steps will have a consistency which enables them to walk up and down them with a steady rhythm. Adjacent flights of stairs should also have identical dimensions. Treads should be level, although a small drainage fall from back to nosing of say 1 : 60 max. would be beneficial. This would also apply to the ground at the top and bottom of the steps and any intermediate landings. Natural stone steps created as part of a rockery might be justifiably rugged, uneven, and steep but don’t mix formal and natural steps to catch the user unawares. Outdoor Step Formula   The human effort needed to walk upstairs or steps is often expressed in the formula: – “twice the rise plus the going equals…”. The assumption is that it requires twice the effort to step up by a given distance as it does to step forward. For example, if you decreased the rise by 20mm and increased the tread by 40mm you would still have a flight […]

Taking part in exhibitions as a garden designer – sense or nonsense? By former student Sabine Friedrich Should you take part in a garden design show? The answer is simple: yes, but … … only in cooperation with a landscaping company. But let’s start with the ‘yes, I would take part in an exhibition and have done’. My advice is to first, find out which exhibition might be the right one for you.  You can find suitable events online at sites like the RHS or Exhibitions.co.uk. Where will you find your future clients? At a ‘consumer exhibition’ where all parts of daily life are shown, or at a garden show, where only everything around gardening is shown? Garden shows attract people who are interested in gardening, but consumer fairs can bring you those who do not intend to look for a garden designer but are attracted by your stand. Attracting people to your stand is the most critical issue if you plan to take part in the exhibition. But how? Think about what your clients might need – that’s what they want to see. Over the last 4 years I showed a complete terrace, including floor, planting beds, trees and/or flowers, furniture and decoration (up to the coffee mug or wine glass), with a large picture of a garden adjoining the terrace. Creating a feeling of how people can live on this terrace will make the visitors envy the terrace (yes, they even tried the deck chair and asked where to buy the blanket) – and the garden in the background. Do you remember the IKEA stores? They do the same: showing complete rooms with all details – and people have a seat at the sofa with cushions and blankets and look into the kitchen cabinets with all the dishes. […]