Seeking Advice for Garden Design and Creation Is Always Worthwhile

Experienced gardeners have natural instincts that can be beneficial — don’t hesitate to reach out for their expertise.

Many years back, perplexed about transforming our ordinary London backyard into a garden, garden writer Ursula Buchan offered me unforgettable advice. She said creating a garden, especially a flowerbed, is quite challenging and urged me to accept help when offered. Designer Mary Keen, who had proposed her assistance, impressively redesigned my garden by advising the installation of two large planting beds alongside a limestone pathway, suggesting a terrace next to the kitchen, and a lawn at the other end of the garden. The plant selection was thoughtful and provided beauty and interest throughout the seasons, including an elegant pruned amelanchier tree with fine branches and delicate flowers, which later displayed lovely autumn hues. This included shrubs and perennials, and I particularly adored the rose ‘Mrs Oakley Fisher’ for its stunning apricot-orange blooms, despite its thorny nature. Charles Quest-Ritson praised her in his ‘RHS Encyclopedia of Roses’ as an exemplary example of the Single Flowered Hybrid Teas from the 1920s.

‘Accept help when you’re undertaking the tough task of garden making’

It always amazes me how garden designers can envision improvements and effectively ignore existing unsightly elements to create stunning new spaces. When contemplating how to merge the different levels of my current garden, it never occurred to me to place two new beds on an elevated terrace with a view to the lower garden. This ingenious idea came easily to designer James Alexander-Sinclair. Designers seem to have an innate ability to envision potential where others cannot.

In her new book ‘What Makes a Garden’, Jinny Blom argues that garden making is a premier form of art and science because it blends both changeable and unchangeable elements into a living masterpiece, even if that fact isn’t always clear to those with hands roughened by digging. Susie Pasley-Tyler, who took over the extensive borders at Coton Manor, grew to truly understand plant interplay through persistent learning, creating awe-inspiring borders that attract repeat visitors. Observing and studying her borders is one approach to grasp garden design. Her insights from decades of gardening are also now shared in her book ‘Gardening with Colour at Coton Manor’, filled with useful planting information and supported by Andrew Lawson’s authentic photography.

I enjoyed reading about Antony du Gard Pasley, a notable landscape architect and relative of Susie Pasley-Tyler, who wasn’t shy about pointing out areas of improvement at Coton Manor. Following his advice, though tough, always proved to be correct in the end.