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I’m very pleased to share that my entry to the APL awards, as a designer, has been shortlisted in the final. The APL are the Association of Professional Landscapers under the umbrella of the Horticultural Trade Association (HTA). As a designer member they vet that my design work is of a professional standard and that

Absolutely love working with Catriona. She’s brought fantastic ideas to our project and has a very thoughtful approach to design to ensure it is functional too. Our garden is a complete turnaround situation and has taken a while to think through the right design, but Catriona has been incredibly patient throughout the process. Catriona challenges

I’m delighted that I’ve been accepted as Garden Designer Landscape Specialist by London Stone. I’m very keen on their Contemporary Smooth Sandstone at the moment. If you would like to see my page please see here https://www.londonstone.co.uk/garden-designer/catriona-stiles-garden-design/

1. Get some inspiration There are a lot of garden styles and ambience that you can create in the garden. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” so go and visit gardens, garden shows and start a Pinterest board. Gather the nuggets of plant combinations, materials and design that calls to you. 2. Bring shapes

How to use shapes in garden design to give you the wow factor

In garden design, there is a trend, to provide an garden that is instantly ready, planted and looks amazing straight away. This is generally an expensive way to get a garden and I fear that its not great for the garden owner in the long term. For those fortunate enough, to have an outdoor space,

If you want a low maintenance garden mulching is the one job you should do. The plants will love you for it, you will need to water less and weed less! At this time of year there is an abundant resource of fallen leaves so gather them up and make some of your own black

As I write this I’m about to shut my garden design booking for 2021. I’ve absolutely enjoyed all the designs I have worked on this year! As Winter is starting to set in I wanted to remind you that its not too early to book for next year. With possibility of more locking down the

When you walk into your garden how does it make you feel? Does it give you a feeling of calm, space.. a breathe of fresh air? Or do you see all the weeds, the mess, an overwhelming list of jobs to do? I’ll be honest I sometimes flit between the two but this morning, on

As Autumn starts to ebb in the colours left in the garden are from a few jewels. Sedum or Stonecrop is one of those autumn stars. They are actually called Hylotelephium but that probably going take me at least 5 years to absorb! I love the fact that these plants look great before the colour

Buying a new house is incredibly exciting and hopefully stress free. You can move in to a fully maintained and decorated house, put your furniture in and voila you have a home. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the garden. I’ve spent some time around the new estates local to me. I found that

Sometimes its not easy to see where to go next in your garden. Maybe its a bit overwhelming or if feels like there is a lack of vision. This is where it can be really useful to have someone come in to your garden with fresh eyes and give you some ideas. I love visualising

I love when gardening surprises you. I had not really planned to put sunflowers in my garden design but fate decided other wise. Sunflower seeds were abundant in our house this spring. With three kids they came from granny, school, beavers, the wild flower mix,… even the veg box farmer! There were times when I

Do you have an area of your garden that doesn’t light you up? Would you like to spend time in your garden surrounded by tranquillity, greenery and colour? How would you love a border that is planted to give you colour through the seasons? Let me take the hard work out of it. By investing

I know we are in summer and I’m harping on about thinking about Spring already… One of the enigmas of gardening is planning. You need to be thinking one to two seasons ahead, to keep colour and excitement in your planting throughout the year. So yes I would encourage you to think about bulb planting