LJN Blog Posts

I’ve been working on a construction detail for a deck and steps made out of Millboard, with a Plas Pro recycled plastic sub-structure, for a client whose brief has steered me towards a product which will weather predictably, be long lasting and resis

There is much debate in the garden design world about computer aided design (CAD) versus hand drawn, and personally I think both have their merits. I use Sketchup to create virtual reality 3D models which allow me to really understand the levels, vol

You know you have satisfied clients when they not only throw a big garden party for friends, family and all involved in the creation of the garden, but they also have a cake made specially ... in the shape of the garden!

I've been very lucky and had s

I posted about my green roof in April last year, and thought it might be helpful for anyone considering doing a similar scheme to post an update. Here in Gloucestershire, this year has been so much wetter than the previous two, and it has made a big

This is a great time to take a walk round your (or your clients') garden, with a camera and a notebook, to look at where to plant bulbs in the Autumn. I often find myself wondering where on earth (literally) to fit bulbs in when the time comes, espec

A while back I posted about getting one of my gardens professionally photographed. I’ve been going through photos over the last week as I am having my website revamped, and need to make sure it showcases the best images, and it has made me more aware

I used to live in Brittany, where I worked for a while on a plant nursery. One day while weeding the pots of Azaleas, my boss pointed at the hedge, saying ‘regardes, troglodyte!’ , which I translated as ‘look, a cave dweller!’. Puzzling: life in rura

I’m a lot more interested in plants than I am in lawns, and our lawns have been gradually diminishing since we moved in 4 years ago. However, neither my husband nor I are particularly keen on digging, and we’ve run out of places to stack stripped tur

I posted a blog about this garden 6 weeks ago, and since then the build has continued well. Saying that, I think all builds go through phases when they seem to be taking shape really fast, and others when you wonder if it will ever be finished, and I

Last November I went to see prospective clients on a site near Cheltenham, and knew straightaway that this project was one that I very much wanted to be involved with. The house was very contemporary, with curved facades and large areas of glass. Ins

The water butts have long run dry, and feeling a bit guilty about watering the garden, not to mention thinking maybe we shouldn't have had a water meter fitted, we've started showering in the bath with the plug in and siphoning the water off afterwar

Had a shed clear out yesterday. I know that sounds like a bit of a sad thing to do on a bank holiday monday but it's one of those jobs that is never top priority so never gets done and yet it is always a pain trying to use the shed when it's cluttere

My roof garden has been gradually evolving: it was constructed over a year ago but planting has been piecemeal and experimental. Last year I was very hard hearted and didn't water as I wanted everything to be able to fend for itself but with the dry