Responsible Garden Design Solutions

As Garden Designers we have a responsibility alongside our clients to recognise the impacts we can have on the environment and eco-systems we work within. Gardens offer a fantastic opportunity to work towards reversing climate change and improving bio-diversity where currently the trends are very much one of a warming planet and extinctions of species worldwide. And a garden can make a difference.

A RHS study shows that if every household in the UK planted a medium sized tree and nurtured it to maturity these trees would store carbon the equivalent of driving 11.4 million times around the planet – this is in addition to the benefits in supporting wildlife with habitats and food and removing pollutants from the air.

Garden Renovation and Sustainability

There are many areas as designers we can help from reducing the areas of impermeable hardscapes, including compost areas screened effectively, green roofs, use of renewable resources for outdoor lighting, natural ponds and water features harvesting for irrigation, providing biodiverse habitats, alternatives to the traditional lawn (and avoiding plastic lawns at all costs), organic mulch, carbonised sculptures – the list can go on and on. I recently drew a lot of inspiration for a number of these examples from ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ in Cornwall.

One of the key contributors is planning not just for the now but also the future when it comes to devising planting schemes. Long gone are the days of huge beds entirely consisting of annual bedding plants that don’t last long and require considerable watering during a hot, dry summer. That doesn’t mean we cannot enjoy beautiful planting, quite the opposite, what we can have is year round interest, providing colour but also texture and sensory appeal.

We need to look for plants that are resilient performers, whether during periods of drought or waterlogging, as well as plants that are great for pollinators over a long flowering period and also those that are pollution reducing. The list of options is huge whether lavender ‘hidcote blue’ or Nepeta to Iris pseudacorus and Quercus suber to name a very small sample.

A fantastic book that focuses the mind on sustainable gardens and the vast array that we can do to help is Tom Massey’s ‘Resilient Gardener’.

Discover more Garden Solution Techniques

Here at DP Garden Design we take pride in providing professional garden design and gardening services as well as guidance for other garden lovers. To find out more about how we can assist you with designing your beautiful and sustainable garden, please visit our garden design services and garden packages section or contact/email us on info@dpgardendesign.co.uk.

DP Garden Design is located near Alresford, Winchester, Hampshire and we are able to cover the rest of Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex.