Working Approach:
Nicholas, takes a client-led approach, privileging the tastes and aspirations of his clients in all the decisions he takes. He sees it as his role to enrich these with his design and horticultural knowledge, to deliver results that exceed expectations. Nicholas likes to work closely with our clients throughout this process, providing regular design updates which include options to share agency and ensure satisfaction.
Option 1
Option 2
Planting:
When it comes to planting, Nicholas is enthusiastic about diversity for its aesthetic richness, longer flowering seasons and ecological benefits. Whilst we admire and employ minimalism in moments, he enjoys its contrast where possible.
Planting in a changing and unstable climate necessitates creative thinking and floral migration; as garden staples begin to suffer, new and foreign alternatives must come to the fore. We can take advantage of these changing climates to enjoy new plants and hybrids which flower for longer, enriching our beleaguered insect population by offering new nectar sources at formerly barren times of year.
When designed properly, the collision of exotic plants with British natives offers opportunities to tease out similarities or subvert expectations, playing games of perception that surprise and delight even the horticulturally uninitiated.
All such experimental planting depends upon careful site analysis, for every garden has its own microclimate. The joy of design comes through the examination of these unique conditions and responding with floral concoctions that thrive physically, delight aesthetically and push the boundaries of expectation.
Conceptual Approach:
I embrace gardens of all styles: from traditional formality to romantic naturalism, I will turn his hand to whichever style the client and context desire, whilst never omitting a little individual flair.
Broad learning and creative experience underpin my work. Landscape and ecology, history and culture, art and architecture all inform his practice. I will sensitively interpret such diverse references and synthesise them with the specificity of our client’s brief to achieve gardens rich in a sense of place, cultural relevance and distinct personality.
The ‘Lattice Garden’ project (see top left) exemplifies this erudite, interpretive approach. The client requested a topiary garden to structure their large half-acre site so we seized upon Tudor knot-work parterres as our reference, to complement the 16th Century Farmhouse. Using the woven patterns of hedging as a guide, I exaggerated their scale to encompass the garden and loosened their form to create unique spaces that enclose, reveal and frame specimen topiary. These woven forms are created by cloud-pruned yew hedging, a mainstay of historic English country gardens.
I seek to use local materials where possible to lend a sense of place to our gardens, whilst employing the right materials to enhance the tactile experience. For example, one might use porcelain tiling where bare feet tread, so they meet smooth and readily washable floors.
In all my work, I seek to introduce an elegance of form, innovative planting and a rigorously architectural attention to detail.
