OK studio – grow up!

27th April 2023

My studio in France is tiny. I’ve never minded as it has been fantastic having one here at all! I made it fun & used a tropical print for one wall which I’ve enjoyed looking at for 7 years now. We’ve been doing up our lovely French house with brocante finds since we signed the ownership papers. I really wanted authentic old French furniture & mirrors & a shabby chic kind of vibe – no Ikea for me thanks. As you can see above it’s a beautiful old house built of local tuffeau stone. It was originally built for the …

Designing a new topiary garden

31st March 2023

You might recognise this garden if you know my work…this is part of the Secret Garden at Pip’s Place. Have a look here – https://www.joannealderson.com/portfolio/large-gardens-estates/pips-place/. We bought the big taxus topiary beehives in Belgium a few years ago as part of phase 1 & now we are going to add to them. Ginni asked to meet up to discuss this garden & pondered making some changes. She told me how expensive it was to maintain with mowing etc & sadly all the Ilex crenata edging (supposedly the wonder plant replacement for buxus) had died! My immediate thought was to create …

October news – my life in garden design

18th October 2022

It’s been so incredibly busy lately I hadn’t noticed I’d not posted anything since July. Autumn is now here & the leaves are turning so he’s an update on what has been going on in my world. Lots of new clients which is just wonderful! I always have a queue of work but people also find me when wanting a garden design or are often recommended by existing clients which is so flattering & kind & keeps it all going. I now have new garden design schemes in Bath, Brighton, Marlow & Henley on Thames so I’ll continue to be …

Would you like a studio tour?

26th July 2022

I work from home here in the Cotswolds & have been lucky enough to build my own studio ( correction! I actually used professional builders!!). We live in a barn conversion & my studio building was originally a Cotswold stone animal shelter when this was all part of the main farm back in the 1800s. It was converted to a double garage 20 years ago but that meant cars had to drive through our courtyard to get there. That was stupid, so we reconfigured it all & connected it via a link extension to the house. We now park cars …

A prestigious project in Bath

26th January 2022

I have been asked to design the garden of this fabulous Grade 1 listed townhouse in Bath. It is a classic Georgian terrace built of Bath stone right in the heart of the city. Such a elegant property & the interior is being designed by Melanie of MW Interiors so that will be equally elegant too – I have seen the drawings & it will be fabulous!! UNFORTUNATELY this is what I have to play with! I certainly have my work cut out! My plan however is to make the back just as beautiful as the front so watch this …

Working from France

26th July 2021

Six years ago our dream came true & we bought a house in France. I love the relaxed French way of life; their fabulous architecture, food, style, culture & in this area – the weather! We bought a classically French stone house two miles away from the Medieval Royal City of Loches in the Loire Valley. It is a picture perfect French town with a fantastic market that takes over all the cobbled streets twice a week. We love to sit & people watch from one of our favourite cafes on a Saturday morning & buy wine from one of …

A few new garden design drawings

16th February 2021

As a designer, I am always juggling several schemes in order to meet deadlines & at the moment there’s no exception. I have a couple of very large Georgian houses in substantial grounds, a new oak framed house with several acres on a sloping site, a Gospel Hall conversion in Norfolk, a large modern house with underground parking & a lake near me in Witney, a cottage in the Cotswolds & a converted stone barn. I am never bored!! Here are a few new drawings to show you what I’ve been up to. It shows a range of projects I …

News in February 2020

17th February 2020

2020 has been a great year so far. Firstly I’m very pleased to have been invited to be on The List by House & Garden. It’s a prestigious place to be & I am in impressive company so thank you very much House & Garden! I am also delighted to say I won the annual Houzz Best designer award 2020. It’s wonderful to open an email with exciting news so thank you to everyone at Houzz & all the people who follow my work there. Exciting news on the home front too – After two years of builders knocking our …

A Cotswold garden site visit today

10th April 2019

It’s a lovely life being a garden designer & today was no exception. I visited a large Cotswold garden & despite being blasted by freezing cold wind & a threatening grey sky I was delighted with what I saw. Last time I was there there was a great deal of brown as it had all been seeded. Being forty acres that’s a lot of brown! It’s still really early spring but you can see it all coming to life & the structure is as I had hoped. Below I have planted Prunus Serrula trees through gravel for structural interest whilst …

My French Foray!

4th July 2016

I can’t remember not loving France & all things French. I find it so inspiring – particularly their grand gardens which are just tremendous. We always spent holidays there with our dog & our dream was to own our own place & work in France for part of the year. A couple of years ago we bought a place in Loches in the Loire Valley & now I divide my time between here & there. It’s working really well; I meet clients here in England, go to site meetings here & then draw over there where there are fewer …

Chelsea Award Winning Garden Design