Blossoming Gardens Garden Design - Edinburgh & East Lothian

A day away from the studio, gathering inspiration and sharing ideas 🌿

Last week I joined our local cluster group for a wonderful day at in Arbroath – and what a place to spend a day immersed in gardens, art and creativity.

We were given a fascinating tour of the walled garden, originally a physic garden, which has been beautifully redesigned by the late .Dunnett, as well as the restored fernery.

Over lunch, we had the chance to chat with the artists in residence and hear about the work they were creating. What an amazing space for creativity and sharing ideas.

Earlier in the day, we visited the show garden that Nigel designed for at Chelsea in 2025. The garden has since been relocated to nearby Ladyloan School, where it will become a backdrop for outdoor learning.

Inspired by the surrounding sand dunes, the garden demonstrates just how beautiful and resilient the planting can be, even in challenging conditions. 🌾

This garden will now be cared for by local volunteers.

I came home feeling very inspired, with plenty of ideas to mull over. There’s nothing quite like stepping away from the drawing board for a day to look, learn and share ideas with other designers.

Can you spot the parking space?

Car parking spaces don’t have to be the least interesting part of a garden.

One of my favourite details in this project was rethinking the parking area. Instead of the existing expanse of concrete slabs, split the slabs to craft more elegant tyre tracks and softened everything around them with gravel, creeping thyme and cheerful little daisies.

Because the space is only used occasionally, the plants have plenty of time to bask in the sunshine between visits.

The result? A practical parking space that quietly disappears into the garden, rather than dominating it. Most of the time, you’d hardly know it was there at all.

It’s a lovely reminder that even the most functional parts of a garden can be beautiful with a little thought.

Four years ago, this garden had been little more than a field, where horses had passed through from the stables to their pastures.

So it was lovely to return and see how our design plans had materialised into an established garden. 🌿

Driving up the drive, hares have been honing their topiary skills on one of the beech balls – creating an elegant low lollipop shape, with surprisingly good results.😂

Crossing the stepping stones over the new pond, where newts have set up home amid happy hostas, iridescent irises, candy coloured candelabra primulas and the candyfloss froth of rodgersia flowers.🪷

Into the woodland area, pink martagon lilies dangle gracefully in the cool shade and the hen pecked foam flowers lurk under the trees.🌳

Back out in the sunshine, coral heucheras, poppies and London pride bejewel the back borders.

This garden was beautifully brought to life by The Promised Landscapes LTD and my clients have worked tirelessly to nurture the planting over the years - with a little help from their furry and feathered friends!

I have often shied away from planting roses in clients’ gardens. I always thought of them as primadonnas, needing cosseting and perfect conditions to thrive. 🌹

But then I started noticing dog roses and Rosa rugosa happily growing along the beach paths here in East Lothian, growing in the sand and standing up to salty winds without any fuss. It made me rethink this.

So, when designing this coastal garden, I planted a hedge of very natural Kew Gardens roses outside the kitchen door. And they’ve completely won me over.🌼

Despite poor soil and plenty of battering from the elements, they’ve thrived. The foliage stays healthy, they flower through the summer and every time you walk in or out of the house, you’re greeted by the most beautiful fragrance.

̇gn

It was such a pleasure to revisit this East Lothian coastal garden earlier this week. 🌼

We first started this design project back in 2021, with the aim of creating a very natural garden that blended in beautifully in this stunning coastal setting. Seeing it now, established and growing exactly as intended, is incredibly rewarding.

Working with the site rather than against it was key. The garden was planted directly into the existing sand in the spring of 2022, using plants naturally adapted to dry, coastal conditions. As a result, it has been able to flourish in this exposed location without the need for irrigation.

Of course, gardens don’t establish themselves. A huge shout-out to and before that , for all the care, dedication and hard work they’ve put into nurturing this planting through some challenging conditions. 🙌

It’s always satisfying to see a garden settle into the landscape and look as though it has always belonged there. ✨

CoastalPlanting LandscapeDesign

Another picture from the garden I revisited in East Lothian last week.

The clay pavers were a favourite with all of us and blended in beautifully with the surroundings.

What a treat to revisit this garden that I designed a couple of years ago.

Built at the end of 2024 and planted last spring, it has been carefully tended by its owners and has established beautifully.

We created a mound when we excavated the pond and this has been planted to create a far more interesting space.

The garden was carefully crafted by

Beautiful Wood Anemones shivering in the breeze up in Perthshire last week.

Just back at my desk after a week up north. Looking back through my notes and photos from a wonderful cluster group visit to the workshop of in East Lothian. Here Jonnie and his team craft stunning outdoor furniture from storm felled trees. He often incorporates other innovative sustainable materials in his work. ⚒️

We even got to have a go on the tools, engraving, sanding and oiling our own bespoke cheese boards. 🧀

We then went up to visit Sam to see where the timber for his current commission for the was milled. 🪵⚙️

Many thanks to all who organised this event and lovely to catch up with other garden design colleagues.

I popped back earlier in the week to plant up this pond and was excited to see that it was swarming with tadpoles, bathing in the shallows.