OUR WORK
We are award winning gardeners, caring for you and the natural world.
Most of our clients find us by word of mouth, and we are hear "extremely easy to work with", "cut costs", "knowledgeable", "a great inspiration", "reliable, friendly and approachable", "the garden has been transformed"
One of the warmest was
"Thank you for the magic you weave in our garden". Sums us up.
Read clients testimonals and feedback below.
They have a variety of reasons for engaging with us, including:
• I want to create a beautiful garden that cares for all wildlife, working with nature, in nature time
• We want a naturalistic, feel good space in a North facing garden
• We need a low maintenance garden and don’t want to use chemicals
• We’ve a South facing garden that needs to be drought resistant
• We heard you’re into wildlife and want to create a wildlife friendly, edible garden, including living pathways.
If you’d like to talk about you garden, connect with us here.
Here are 5 examples of our work. An urban garden, a hotel garden, a fell side garden, a village garden, and a more formal garden. All share regenerative values, most include ponds:
The image at the top of an edible, urban jungle garden was created in 5 months. When the property was bought it looked like this (see the red wall?). The owner wanted all the hard paving removed, including 4 tonnes of concrete, to create a biodiverse haven including edibles, using recycled materials. In the first summer, 5 varieties of bees visited, and the pond is teeming with life, including frogs, aquatic beetles and water snails. In the second spring, bluetits nested, goldfinches and great-tits came to find nesting materials, wrens and robins took residence. They harvested over 30 varieties of fruit and veg in a small urban space.
We took over the care of the gardens at a Lake District Hotel and won a silver medal and Silver Gilt from Cumbria in Bloom (2022). Their comments included "The gardens, extensive grounds and woods are undergoing a transformation prompted by a change of gardener and gardening techniques ... following a philosophy of working with the natural environment…The plan everywhere around the site was to work with nature … No pesticides or herbicides were used on site. Compost and leaf mould are used to best advantage. Storm damage trees have been left on site as the refuge for small animals, ideal hedgehog homes. Decaying wood provides bug and insect homes. A very peaceful wood with thoughtful paths”
We took over the care of the gardens at a Lake District Hotel and won a silver medal and Silver Gilt from Cumbria in Bloom (2022). Their comments included
"The gardens, extensive grounds and woods are undergoing a transformation prompted by a change of gardener and gardening techniques ... following a philosophy of working with the natural environment…
The plan everywhere around the site was to work with nature … No pesticides or herbicides were used on site. Compost and leaf mould are used to best advantage. Storm damage trees have been left on site as the refuge for small animals, ideal hedgehog homes. Decaying wood provides bug and insect homes.
A very peaceful wood with thoughtful paths”
"Thank you for the magic you weave in our garden"
The client wanted a pond (here under ice in winter and before planting aquatic and marginal plants) on a slope in a fell side garden. We installed a 7mx5m pond, re-laying moss, grass and reeds that were initially removed, transplanting bushes, reusing stone in the garden and breaking old slates to create decorative shillies. The pond is still very young, but in the first spring, 7 months after installation, a broad bodied chaser dragonfly claimed his territory, mated with a female who laid eggs in the pond. Large red damselflies and Common blue damselflies are also mating and laying eggs. Water nymphs, frogs and toads as well as numerous aquatic beetles have also made it their home.
"Our garden is in a village that gets a lot of westerly winds, a lot of plants don’t thrive. Elizabeth takes this into account when she assesses your garden. She is very knowledgable and doesn’t use pesticides.
We needed help as neither of us know what to plant or when and are not as fit as we used to be for bending and digging.
Since Elizabeth started working for us the garden looks appropriate for its surroundings and has colour all year. It's a pleasure to walk and sit in.
We have a lot more birds, insects and butterflies since she planted a wildlife strip.
She is extremely easy to work with and will make suggestions. She has helped us to cut the cost of having to buy a lot of bedding plants twice a year which we were doing, by suggesting alternate perennials.
I would recommend her as she is very reliable, friendly and approachable, understanding older people's needs. She also doesn’t mind teaching you if you ask questions."
We planted beautiful flowers instead of pesticides to cover the ground. No chemicals needed.
The owner was spraying the cracks of the cobbles, we planted beautiful flowers instead. No chemicals needed.
A distinction was wanted between wilder wooded areas and wildflower meadow, and a more formal garden. We designed the area (below), alongside the owner, to include curving walls, beds and planting, and a pond. Previously this had been gravel paths and steps, which tended to flood on heavy clay. The pond is dynamic, with half a liner (to prevent total dry out) and half clay (to allow for seepage in winter flood). It’s a maturing pond with masses of aquatic life.
"My garden has challenges, sitting at 250m..., exposed to wind and water coming off the nearby fells, with a heavy clay soil. When we came here it was mostly rough grass lawn with a few shrubs dotted around.
With Elizabeth’s guidance and help the garden has been transformed. The fundamental problem was poor soil, so by adding compost, grit/sand and bark fines mulch year after year the texture and fertility of the soil is vastly improved. Elizabeth’s expertise with composting has been put to great use and we now produce a decent amount of good quality home grown compost.
Working with better soil, no chemicals and finding the right mix of hardy plants well suited to these exposed conditions, we have filled the garden with life. New areas for planting and a pond have been created, attracting yet more wildlife and beneficial health to all.
Elizabeth has been a great inspiration and I have gained so much knowledge and confidence working with her. She is generous with her own knowledge and keen to pass on skills without sounding in the least ‘preachy’! Our time spent in the garden together is full of laughter and chat and mutual respect - an ideal gardening companion. I have recommended Elizabeth before and would gladly do so again"
We designed the area (below), alongside the owner, to include curving walls, beds and planting, and a pond. Previously this had been gravel paths and steps, which tended to flood on heavy clay. The pond is dynamic, with half a liner (to prevent total dry out) and half clay (to allow for seepage in winter flood). It’s a maturing pond with masses of aquatic life.
