A degree in Town Planning taught me the plan drawing skills that I have combined with my love of gardens and growing plants to provide the garden design and consultation service I now offer.

Various house moves enabled me to design and create three new gardens of my own in which to hone my gardening skills (including propagating most of the plants for each new garden), before I took a job as an assistant to a garden designer.

In 2001 I achieved distinction in an HND in Garden Design at Myerscough College, near Preston, and set up my own garden design business. Since then, I have designed and helped to create a range of gardens, from small front gardens in town locations to large country gardens.

At this time, I also completed my Certificate in Further and Adult Education and began teaching classes in both garden design and practical gardening at several locations for local colleges.

Since 2006 I have been involved with Settle in Bloom and in 2007 we were awarded a silver medal in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition - a great result for a first entry.

In practice, this means choosing plants that are suited to the local growing conditions - woodland plants in shady areas, drought-tolerant plants in hot sunny places, bog plants for wet areas etc - and putting them together to create attractive combinations that change with the seasons.

Instead of trying to defy nature, communities of plants are developed that grow happily together in the same conditions and are virtually self-sustaining. Together with applying a mulch of organic matter or gravel after planting, this greatly reduces the amount of weeding and watering needed, making the garden much easier to look after and preserving natural resources.


All photos used on this website are taken from gardens designed by Margaret Wilding.