Nature-friendly gardens

For years I've taught garden design to mature students. We have a module on edible gardens - how and where to grow fruit and vegetables, and a module on how to work with nature. We take a field trip to a local garden centre and then to a supermarket, to see what is considered 'essential supplies' for the home gardener. It is illuminating.

The biggest product range is generally related to pest control. The second is devoted to improving the soil. Both of these 'problems' can be avoided with some simple changes in attitude and practice. As attitudes are generally hardest to shift we will look at them first. How we use local materials to create beautiful gardens is a creative challenge that as a design consultancy we respond to on a daily basis.

Many home gardeners want perfection. They want prize blooms, record sized produce and not a blemish on their carefully managed landscape. When we walk slowly into a natural environment, or even a local park, we will see that nature is not perfect. It aims for balance. Some bugs get to eat some plants. Some predators get to eat some bugs. We get to see the big picture, which is about nature working towards a balanced state of equilibrium.

When students say to me that they aspire to a perfect lawn, with no 'nasty worm casts' I assure them that without the worms their grass will require more and more inputs to achieve the same level of greenness, the same level of growth and resistance to drought. When you poison a worm you poison the soil. With companion planting you can boost the vigour of your chosen plants, fertilise your soil, and keep pesky bugs at bay.

We need to design our gardens and then develop and manage them in a nature-friendly way. Eco-friendly gardens are not a fad. With climate change and a global financial situation requiring us to be aware of inputs and outputs in a way we haven't considered for hundreds of years, we must change our attitudes towards nature.

In practice it means we have to let go a little, and allow ourselves to work with nature. Instead of laying poison, if we encourage natural predators into our gardens they will provide the balance for us. Nature friendly gardens are an art and a science. Greenstone Design's research team are constantly looking at new ways of developing healing gardens that are nature friendly, revitalising house and garden design to make the most of the local natural environment.

Eco garden design is design that makes a difference to the triple bottom line, to human health and well-being and hence to society, to the local economy and to the environment. We do that in an ethical way. It's what makes us a bit different.

Sustainble living and going green

With the new office open in Wellington New Zealand, House and Garden Design, as a division of Greenstone Design UK Ltd, is rethinking 'going green'. In New Zealand native planting has been trendy for some years. People choose natives not for their green credential so much as their easy care, low maintenance, good looks. This is true of native planting wherever you live.

Sustainable living is all about living more lightly on the earth. We need to use fewer resources if we are to manage a One Planet Living lifestyle in our lifetimes. This means that we need to choose how we design our homes and gardens carefully. Locally sourced materials, local labour, native planting suitable to our soil and climate all make a difference.

When we go green we need less fertiliser, less watering, less additives, less effort from us as the plants like the soil we have, as it is. An annual mulch of home-grown compost will provide all the additional nutrients the soil needs to stay healthy.

This is not to say that all exotic plants are bad, or that we must not water our gardens. The trick, as with all things, is to find the right balance. House and Garden Design.com explores the benefits of balance in our lives, and the potential for our homes and gardens to nuture us more fully.

Feng shui consultant - design for sustainable living

Last month one of my former interior design students contacted me to say "Help!" Her life was a mess. Relationships were faltering, her health was deteriorating and her business wasn't getting the new leads she was used to. She asked could I come in and assess her home.

I offer no guarantees for my feng shui consultant work. I do have sufficient experience to be confident of my ability to make a difference however. Early reports are that my student's life is turning around.

We spent 2 hours working our way through her home, room by room. There were some classic problems with beams cutting across her bed, likely causing health and relationship difficulties. Although the room had a beautifully laid bed the room was set out for one not two people. We energised the space by 'fixing' the beams with red ribbons, moving some furniture, cleaning the windows, added her vibrant handbag as decoration to the otherwise neutral colour scheme, then marvelled as the room came to life.

In each room we repeated the process until the whole house had a new energy about it. What had felt static now feels alive. Her beautifully decorated and composed rooms had lacked the energy she herself felt she was missing.

Interestingly, all the elements were there, just not where they really added to her life. We intrinsically know what we need in our lives but often don't know how to put the pieces together. By using current and previously stored items, and rearranging her potted plants, furniture and art, choosing colours and shapes carefully, we changed the feel of each room.

Next we moved on to her garden. As indoors, each corner of the garden has a particular function in feng shui terms. Knowing how to energise each space to boost income, personal recognition, health, relationships, creativity, career is both an art and a science. The ancient Chinese developed the system as a way of living in balance with nature. We offer feng shui cures to support sustainable living.

Planting for drought tolerance

As our climate changes we are seeing more frequent 'unusual weather events'. Here in Surrey we've had a baking June followed by torrential downpours throughout July. Some local trees are showing autumn leaf colour, and it's not even August!

So what can we do?

In addition to reducing our energy consumption by turning OFF appliances, doing things by hand where we may have taken the conveient option and used a machine, and drastically cutting our use of the family car, we can adapt the way we garden.

1. Mow the lawn at a higher level so it stays green longer without the need for additional water (and mow it less frequently, saving you time and mower fuel , and our planet)

2. Plant more trees. Trees can be grown in almost all climate zones and do great things for absorbing atmospheric carbon, reducing local heat by shading the ground/interior of buildings, absorbing vast amounts of water from the soil through their roots, humidifying the air and providing habitat for local birds and associated natural communities.

3. When we plant, if your soil is retains water, ensure the ground is raised slightly so the roots do not become waterlogged in times of heavy rain. Once the tree or shrub is in the ground make an earth ring around the plant, at a distance of 2- 3 times the size of the root ball. This becomes the watering zone, holding moisture around the plant, where it is needed most.

4. Choose drought hardy plants. That does not mean you need cacti all over your garden, but rather choose plants for their ability to stand up even to baking summer sun. Prairie grasses and flowers, Mediterranean herbs and trees, roses, all do well in a variety of soil types and growing conditions.

5. Plan for shade in your garden so that (you and ) some more tender plants can get out of the heat.