irrigation systems

A Cottage Garden near Godshill, Isle of Wight. by Tim Brayford Landscapes

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Herbaceous Border

A Cottage Garden in Godshill, I.W.

How do you make a cottage garden easier to look after and prettier too?

When our client needed to cut down on heavy work in the garden of her thatched cottage near Godshill she decided to seek professional help. She had initially bought the 17^th century stone cottage as a weekend retreat from a high powered job in London and her recent retirement now allowed her to spend more time in the garden there.

A great deal of attention was paid to planning the project with positive exchanges of ideas between ourselves and our client, these discussions are of vital importance to achieve a successful outcome. Amongst the challenges that we faced was to add features that instantly looked old to blend in seamlessly with their surroundings.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Newly laid paving and bricks

We were tasked with remodelling the driveway, we replaced an area of lawn with decorative pebbles which were retained by a low brick wall. A low maintenance flower bed was planted around an antique bird bath, it was adjacent to a window so both birds and blooms could be enjoyed from indoors as well as out.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A large skipper butterfly feeding on geranium “Wargrave’s Pink

Ancient flagstones were recycled to construct new access paths around the cottage whilst further away brick paths edged the lawn, leading through to the orchard. It’s so important to make the correct choices with these kinds of materials, many modern bricks are far too regular and uniformly coloured for this kind of location but we found some that looked hand made with an irregular finish and colour variations.

Our client was delighted :- “ Tim’s advice was excellent, he is very helpful and knowledgeable . What he has done is nicely in keeping with what was here already”

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Garden Design and Landscaping FAQs – Tim Brayford Landscapes Isle of Wight

A country garden designed & built by Tim Brayford Landscapes on the Isle of Wight

Tim Brayford Landscapes FAQs

I’d like to have my garden designed, how do I go about this?

Please contact us to arrange for a consultation. This exchange of ideas will be the foundation on which your new garden will be created. Our follow up recommendation reports are very popular and may be augmented by design plans where desired.

I’m very interested in having you design and build a garden for me, where can I see examples of what you have done in the past?

Please visit both the portfolio and testimonial pages of our website www.timbrayford.co.uk to view some of our past projects and hear what our very many satisfied clients have had to say.

When is the best time to have a garden designed and landscaped?

The consultation and design stages of the project may be done at any time. Although gardens can also be landscaped at any time of year more can be done when the days are longer and the weather is good. Rain and mud creates mess and will slow the work down. Planting can be done at any time of year but autumn, winter and spring are better for getting them established.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A garden in spring

How much will having my garden landscaped cost?

Once we have met you and discussed your requirements we will be better placed to supply free estimates for the garden construction works

Can any size of garden benefit from being designed?

Yes. The point of good garden design is to make the most of the space you have available and ensure that the garden and house sit comfortably together. That’s what we set out to do, so you can get on with enjoying your garden.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A large skipper butterfly feeding on geranium “Wargrave’s Pink

Can we have a garden that is child, pet and wildlife friendly?

A garden which is designed to withstand a little wear and tear is great for children, pets and wildlife. If need be these wilder areas can be separated off by hedging or fencing from the more orderly parts of the garden.

Do we have to have all of the landscaping done at once?

The design work usually encompasses the entire garden but if you just want part of your garden to be landscaped then that is no problem at all. Likewise it is possible to do the upgrade over several seasons if this is preferred.

Do you guarantee the plants that you put in?

If you select our aftercare service we will replace any new plants that fail within the first 6 month after planting.

Do you take the rubbish away when you landscape a garden?

All unwanted wastes are disposed of via a properly licensed waste carrier, unless we inform you otherwise this has been included in our price.

Aftercare

Many of our clients decide to keep us on after their project to ensure their garden receives the very best of care. We can also supply a maintenance schedule to assist clients who would enjoy taking care of their garden themselves.

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Isle of Wight Garden Gallery 80 by Tim Brayford Landscapes

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

“Almost every plant species that are to be found in any other part of England are met with here, a circumstance that must be extremely agreeable to the philosophic mind and grateful to the botanist and man of science. They abound in quantity as well as variety.” John Albin – 1795 Newport

Our Isle of Wight Garden Galleries show a selection of gardens large and small together with the plants and features found within them

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Peahen

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Spring Flowers

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Broad Beans

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Summer Bedding

Tim Brayford Landscapes were established in 1980 and we are British Association of Landscape Industries National Award Winners for Garden Design & Construction. We have a wide experience of landscaping works ranging from the initial ideas through to making gardens and their aftercare.

We recommend an initial verbal consultation and report preparatory to forwarding costings for your project, both for the building of entirely new gardens or for the addition of individual features to a well established one. Typically this may take the form of tree, shrub & herbaceous border planting, wildlife gardens & ponds, wildflower meadows, lawn seeding & turfing, raised beds, water gardens & pools,installation of irrigation systems, ground shaping & cultivation. We also undertake specialist maintenance work such as fruit, shrub & rose pruning.

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Isle of Wight Garden Gallery 79 by Tim Brayford Landscapes

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

Our Isle of Wight Garden Galleries show a selection of gardens large and small together with the plants and features found within them

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Apple Blossom

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Bluebells

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Garden seating

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Dog Roses

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

The Garden in Summer by Tim Brayford Landscapes Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

“In general such is the purity of the air, the fertility of the soil, and the beauty and variety of the landscapes, that this island has often been styled the Garden of England” – The History of the Isle of Wight, Sir Richard Worsley. 1781

This is one of a series of articles and anecdotes largely based around our work on the Isle of Wight and occasionally further afield

Tim Brayford Landscapes- Early summer flowers

“That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
And the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summer is the time that all the hard work and planning of earlier seasons comes to fruition.

The long days and balmy evenings will see the traditional English country and cottage gardens at their best, with earlier flowerings of Poppies, Delphiniums, Peonies and Aquilegias to be followed by Hostas, Japanese Anemonies, Rudbeckias and Heleniums to name but a few.

Cutting down the stems of early plants such as Lupins may lead to a second blooming in late summer and dead heading repeat flowering roses such as the fragrant “Claire Austin” is beneficial.
The fresher air in the evening is perhaps the best time to enjoy sweetly scented Honeysuckles and Nicotianas

Tim Brayford Landscapes – mid summer herbaceous border

Bright and colourful summer bedding like Geraniums and Busy Lizzies can highlight decorative tubs whilst Petunias and Nemesias may be found in hanging baskets. Keeping a few Begonias to hand in pots can be a useful way of plugging any gaps that may appear in herbaceous borders until a more permanent solution can be found in the autumn.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Bees feast on these late summer flowering Heleniums

Watering may become necessary during a prolonged dry spell, a thick organic mulch will help to retain moisture and if seed free deter weeds from germinating. If the lawn starts to turn brown raise the cutting height of your mower and cut less frequently.

Watering is best done at night when evaporation is less and there is little risk of scorching or better still install some sub-surface irrigation.

Do not be afraid of pruning back plants that are starting to obstruct paths or gateways and do make a note of any possible changes or improvements for future reference.

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Isle of Wight Garden Gallery 78 by Tim Brayford Landscapes

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

Our Isle of Wight Garden Galleries show a selection of gardens large and small together with the plants and features found within them

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Bespoke Building

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Wildlife Log Pile

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Colourful Vine Leaves

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Brick Steps

We recommend an initial verbal consultation and report preparatory to forwarding costings for your project, both for the building of entirely new gardens or for the addition of individual features to a well established one. Typically this may take the form of tree, shrub & herbaceous border planting, wildlife gardens & ponds, wildflower meadows, lawn seeding & turfing, raised beds, water gardens & pools, installation of irrigation systems, ground shaping & cultivation. We also undertake specialist maintenance work such as fruit, shrub & rose pruning.

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Peat Free Gardening by Tim Brayford Landscapes Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

This is one of a series of articles and anecdotes largely based around our work on the Isle of Wight and occasionally further afield

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A natural peat bog, according to the IUCN peatlands store 30% of global carbon

Peat has long been used within the horticultural industry both as a growing medium used in composts and as a soil conditioner. It is a natural product composed of slowly decaying plant material built up over many thousands of years.

It is harvested primarily from lowland raised peat bogs, an increasingly endangered form of habitat along with the flora and fauna that it supports. But this is not all, it efficiently locks up atmospheric CO2 forming an effective and vital buffer against climate change.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Modern peat harvesting destroys the original peat bog

Fortunately advances in recycling and composting technology has rendered the use of peat redundant for most conventional gardening purposes. Peat free compost is made up mainly from recycled waste organic material such as bark, sawdust, coir, paper etc. blended with inorganic materials such as sand , grit or perlite, with fertiliser added as appropriate.

A simple guide on how to avoid using peat in the garden:-

Only purchase composts specifically labelled as being “Peat Free”

Use recycled garden waste as a soil improver and conditioner. Traditionally gardeners have done this for themselves by constructing their own compost heap, high quality recycled composts are also available from many municipal authorities

Source plants from nurseries and garden centres that have peat free policies

Plant only what will already grow in your existing soil without adding peat

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Raised peat bog flora like this Bog Cranberry will be destroyed by harvesting

It is the policy of Tim Brayford Landscapes to avoid using peat and peat based products

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Isle of Wight Garden Gallery 77 by Tim Brayford Landscapes

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

Our Isle of Wight Garden Galleries show a selection of gardens large and small together with the plants and features found within them

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Spring Bulbs & Sundial

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Summer flowers

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Meadow Cranesbill

Tim Brayford Landscapes-Bluebells and bee

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Garden Ideas by Tim Brayford Landscapes Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

This is one of a series of articles and anecdotes largely based around our work on the Isle of Wight and occasionally further afield

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A tranquil seating area amongst herbs & grape vines

Garden Ideas

Your initial thoughts

Start by assessing your future needs for your garden, who is going to use it and for what purpose. Does it need dividing up into tranquil areas for more mature family members or perhaps play areas for children or pets, do you want to attract wildlife like garden birds ? And what about maintenance, do you simply want areas of grass or do you have the time and skills to develop the classical country house borders of mixed shrubs and herbaceous plants?

Develop a theme

Thinking in terms of the overall look if your house is of a striking contemporary design you may find that architectural plants with bold foliage and areas of gravel and paving in finely dressed stone or concrete may be suitable, whereas if you live in a traditional country cottage fragrant honeysuckles and roses with winding paths in brick or roughly hewn paving slabs are preferable.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – The blank canvas, after the initial clearance of the concreted over surface!

What to do next

Keep a notebook of your initial thoughts and perhaps do a rough sketch as well. Take a walk around your garden, taking a hard look at things that are past their best. Are paving slabs loose or broken, does the pond leak, are existing plants to your liking, over-mature or gappy? Are the existing features where you would like them to be, are there views that can beneficially be opened up or things that require hiding from view? These are the sort of questions that you need to ask yourself.

Marking Out

The next stage is to get out into your garden and mark out what you intend to do, some sticks and string are useful or the kind of marker paint that is used on building sites. This is available in a variety of colours, you can use a different one for paving, ponds, planting, or lawns etc. Take care to allow plenty of width for paths, space for seating on paved areas and lawns if required, and allow plenty of space for plants to grow and mature into. Take a few photos from different angles of what you have marked out for future reference.

Tim Brayford Landscapes – Allow plenty of space for plants to mature into

Take time to reflect

Now refer back to the notes that you made earlier, is what you wish to do practical, does it fit the available space, can it be achieved and is it possible within your budget? Do any of the features need moving around from where you initially placed them, do others need to be added or even discarded? Again, these are the kind of questions that you need to be asking yourself. If at this stage your thoughts have turned into a bit of a fog you may benefit from some advice from a professional garden designer, otherwise you are now ready to proceed to with your project.

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918

Isle of Wight Garden Gallery 76 by Tim Brayford Landscapes

The Isle of Wight has long been recognised as benefitting from both a mild coastal climate and fertile soils favourable to the gardener

Our Isle of Wight Garden Galleries show a selection of gardens large and small together with the plants and features found within them

Tim Brayford Landscapes – April flowers on this well balanced old apple tree

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A fragrant rambling rose in June

Tim Brayford Landscapes – A late summer border

Tim Brayford Landscapes – An English country garden in early summer

For more photos, advice & stories about gardening please visit our website email timbrayfordlandscapes@gmail.com phone 07890 869918