Do you mostly use your outdoor spaces at night? An entertainer, moth watcher, star gazer or sun avoider? Then why not design a space that is entirely centred on the idea of engaging your garden at night? In this episode we chat about how to make a garden particularly evocative and interesting at night. We consider how to maximise your layout, plants, lighting, materials and accessories to deliver a night garden experience that’s just right for you. And when the sun comes up, it’s still got to look good too.

⁠Photos for this episode⁠⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠⁠OnGardenDesign⁠⁠

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(00:00) Intro (05:51) Layout (07:53) Plants (14:06) Lighting (16:49) Materials (18:32) Accessories (21:53) Daytime

This informative chat steps you through the process for designing your own garden. If you’re up for the challenge, we give you plenty of tips and ideas for assessing, arranging and styling your garden. While we are keen to encourage you to have a go at design, we also highlight the tricky areas where it’s best to call in the experts.

⁠Photos for this episode⁠⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠⁠OnGardenDesign⁠⁠

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(00:00) Intro (05:32) References (06:56) Site assessment (14:02) Site plan and functions (16:54) Connections (23:43) Style (25:19) Plants (28:45) Principles (30:27) Tricky stuff

If you feel like a giant in your garden or your outdoor areas feel overwhelming or insignificant, you’re probably experiencing a problem with proportion. In this episode we chat about practical ways to identify and achieve proportion. We discuss how to take cues from your garden’s broader context and the effect of scale, shapes, colour and foliage on achieving proportion. This episode is the third in a series on garden design principles aimed at helping you assess your garden and create a beautiful space that works for you.

Photos for this episode⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠OnGardenDesign⁠

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Personal values shape the choices we make and the lifestyle we live. So why shouldn’t values play a key role in creating a garden that reflects your principles, priorities and personality? Join our conversation with Lachlan Richardson, a values-based garden designer, as we explore how an appreciation for awe, inclusivity and a social conscience can deliver affordable and sustainable garden design. On his journey of self-reflection and intentional design practices, Lachlan’s approach encourages others to design gardens that contribute to a future that is worth being excited about.

Photos for this episode⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠OnGardenDesign⁠

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(00:00) Intro (07:34) Design values (13:25) Placeholder guide (19:23) Cost-creativity tension (25:28) Mistakes (31:12) Top tips

Is there something overpowering or dominating in your garden? It’s probably upsetting your garden’s balance and compromising its harmony, comfort and stability. In this episode we chat about practical ways to achieve balance in your garden. We discuss how to achieve weighting without symmetry, applying mass and void and how to incorporate a pleasing composition of flow, shapes, texture and colour. This episode is the second in a series on garden design principles aimed at helping you assess your garden and create a beautiful space that works for you.

Photos for this episode⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠OnGardenDesign⁠

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(00:00) Intro (06:06) Indicators (08:46) Weighting (10:07) Symmetry & asymmetry (15:58) Mass & void (21:56) Balance fails (25:43) Plants (28:21) Colour & texture

We intuitively know that gardens have a positive impact on mental health. When this is backed by science, it becomes even more compelling. Join us in this gentle chat with Sue Stuart-Smith, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author of The Well Gardened Mind as she takes us on a journey to better understand why and how gardens can be healing and restorative for mental health conditions. Peppered with practical examples, Sue shares her research and observation of therapeutic design techniques and explains why people feel held, safe and hopeful in a garden.

Photos for this episode⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠OnGardenDesign⁠

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Why is it that some gardens just feel right? And others feel chaotic, disjointed and jarring? It’s probably all about unity. In this episode we chat about practical ways to achieve unity in your garden. We discuss how repetition brings coherence, how taking the lead from a style, theme or genre provides a unifying language and why sense of place is an important consideration. This podcast is the first of a series on garden design principles aimed at helping you assess your garden and create a beautiful space that works for you.

Photos for this episode⁠ are on Instagram at ⁠OnGardenDesign⁠

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(00:00) Intro (03:24) Definition (10:33) Repetition (17:49) Plants (21:45) Architecture (23:39) Style

Would you like to rewild your garden AND design it to look good? Join us chatting with Charlie Harpur about bringing back natural process to the landscape. As Head Gardener at Knepp in southern England, Charlie shares his knowledge and experience in restoring biodiversity through a mosaic of habitats. As the keystone species in your garden, apply these practical tips and techniques to nurture your plot. Not only will you achieve an ecologically rich garden but also one with fabulous aesthetic value.

Photos for this episode are on Instagram at OnGardenDesign.

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(00:00) Intro (04:33) Definition (06:22) Sculpting the land (11:17) Plant management (15:19) Creating mosaics (18:37) Biodiversity (26:08) Aesthetic value (28:52) Soil