Garden design and gardening tips for February

At Karen Chamberlain Garden we work with clients across Essex and Suffolk on all aspects of garden design, from designing every aspect of their gardens to teaching them how to design their gardens themselves through our Essex based garden design courses. We also like to give clients monthly advice on caring for their gardens.

The following is the first in our series of monthly advice blogs.  To receive regular monthly updates, plus other top garden design tips click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter.

So let’s get started..Gardening in February:

Start the big tidy up as soon as possible

I do this as soon as I notice the bulbs pushing through, that’s my cue to get stuck in and clear away last year’s foliage from the perennials, they may still look beautiful covered in frost and snow but really they are beginning to look a bit tatty and they offer the perfect sanctuary for marauding slugs and snails who go crazy for the fresh new growth especially my snowdrops! (I tend to leave my grasses uncut until I see new growth appearing which may not be for another month or so)

Prune Autumn raspberries

These easy to grow plants produce most of their fruit on the stems made in the same year so cut them down to the ground now for a good harvest in late summer.

Chit your potatoes

For me this is the first ritual of the new veg season and although research has shown that it isn’t necessary, it makes me feel like a wise old gardener and so I shall continue. The idea is that you can shorten the time between planting and harvesting if you start them into growth before you plant them. To do this all they need is a cool, frost free place with natural light. Sit them in a tray or egg box, with their ‘eyes’ (the place from which they sprout if you leave them too long in the veg rack!)uppermost, and leave them alone; don’t water them or cover with soil. By the time the weather is good enough for them to go into the soil they will have produced thick stubby shoots that hopefully will produce an earlier crop. (Pst! If you want ‘Jersey Royal’ new spuds on your plate you need to grow ‘International Kidney’)

Plant of the month

It just has to be the snowdrop because it arrives at the leanest of times in the flowering calendar, is easy to grow, low maintenance and so compact that even the smallest garden can accommodate several different types. If you want it to self-seed around your garden you need to choose carefully as some cultivars are sterile. My favourite for naturalising in drifts beneath deciduous trees and shrubs is Galanthus nivalis, the common snowdrop or for something a little taller to pop up between the winter cherry red leaves of Bergenias try G. elwessii or G. S.Arnott

If you want to see them in large drifts head over to Marks Hall, off the A120 near Coggeshall. It’s a lovely site with good walks and lots of interest, oh and good tea and cake.

For help with your garden and garden design needs call us on 01206 323678 or email info@karenchamberlain.co.uk. If you are not sure if we can help, just ask – if we can’t I’m sure we’ll know someone who can.

Posted in News

Getting to know Karen Chamberlain Garden Design and the services we offer

At Karen Chamberlain Garden Design in Dedham near Colchester our clients based mostly across Essex and Suffolk are often amazed at the breadth of services we offer.  The following looks at ‘What we do?’, ‘Who we do it for?’ ‘How we do it?’, ‘When we do it?’ and the thousand dollar question ‘Why we do it?!’

What we do

• Have inspirational ideas (See our portfolio for examples of how we have transformed client’s gardens)
• Guide and advise you on all design aspects of:
  • making a new garden. 
  • remodelling a mature garden.
  • solving specific problems.
  • choosing paving, features and structures.
  • new planting – ornamental and food production.
  • garden styling.
  • Make you think differently about your garden.
  • Spend your money carefully.
  • Survey – measure gardens
  • Supply quality new plants – often below high street prices.
  • Recommend professionals whom we trust to work in your garden. (We never accept payments for recommending other professionals)
  • Source the unusual and the ordinary.
  • Offer on-going support to DIY’ers
  • Stay professional and on your side, offering a transparent and quality service every step of the way.

Who we do it for

• Private, domestic sized gardens, and their owners throughout Essex and Suffolk.   Any size, any style any budget.

How we do it.

• Consultations – on-site discussions ( a great opportunity to have professional advice on how your garden could be improved and revitalised)
• Prepare Plan Drawings – get the ideas down on to paper to make sure it all works and that everyone is happy with the ideas and the cost before building starts!
• Run Courses- in design and planting 
• Monthly Newsletter – exclusively for registered clients 
• Post Blogs – on our website with helpful garden design and planting tips

When we do it

• All year around from Monday to Saturday and from January to December.

Why we do it

• Because we are passionate about all things ‘green’.
• We love to help clients make the most of their garden space and to make that space work for the needs of the whole family.
• Our aim is to help clients fall back in love with their gardens again.

For help with your garden and garden design needs call us on 01206 323678 or email info@karenchamberlain.co.uk.  If you are not sure if we can help, just ask – if we can’t I’m sure we’ll know someone who can.

Posted in News, Our services

Essex based garden designer launches new planting design course

Karen Chamberlain Garden Design is excited to announce details of a new planting design course taking place in Dedham, near Colchester close to the Essex/Suffolk border.

Starting on the morning of Saturday 4th February, the course will be a great opportunity for you to get an insight into considerations garden designers have to take when choosing what to plant and where.

On the course you will learn how to combine plants to create structure and year round interest, receiving a list of ‘designer favourite’ plants.
You will also learn to:

• Build your plant knowledge
• Hone your research skills
• Identify your soil type
• Understand how to choose and design with trees, shrubs and perennials
• How to avoid colour clashes by understanding the basics of colour theory

Although we can’t promise to turn you into a ‘professional garden designer’ overnight; on the course running over four consecutive Saturday mornings we do aim to make you start thinking like one. After completing the course instead of just assembling a random collection of plants, you should have the confidence to create more pleasing borders.

To book please contact Karen on 01206 323678 or info@karenchamberlain.co.uk. (Please note class sizes are limited so booking is essential. The cost of the course includes refreshments and use of all resources. Free parking is also available on-site).

• Course: Garden Planning – Planting
• Dates: Saturday – 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th February 2012. (4 sessions)
• Times: 9.30am to 12.30pm
• Location: Karen Chamberlain Garden Design, Unit 2 Dedham Hall Business Centre, Brook Street, Dedham, Colchester, Essex, CO7 6AD
• Tel: 01206 323678
• Email: info@karenchamberlain.co.uk
• Fee: £120.00 (payable as £60.00 deposit with the balance payable at the first session)
• Website: www.karenchamberlain.co.uk

 

Posted in Courses, News

New Year and new changes to the website

Happy New Year! Hope you had a relaxing Christmas. At Karen Chamberlain Garden Design we are excited to start the New Year with some new changes to our website. These include a new Blog area where you can find tips on garden design, plus an opportunity to sign-up to receive our Monthly Newsletter. In addition, in our Portfolio section you will find lots more case studies showing how we have helped to transform client’s gardens.

We hope you find our new Blog to be both informative and inspirational. You will see that it features guidance on how to design a garden, as well as timely seasonal advice on choosing the right plants for your garden.  To kick off our blogs for the 2012 we will be looking at:

• How a garden designer could help you
• Looking at design and structure for your garden during the winter

In our monthly newsletter you will see that it contains a snap shot of garden design tips and issues; some of which you will find are expanded on in the blog.

Finally don’t forget to check out our new case studies in our Portfolio section. These highlight the breadth of projects we have worked on from large country gardens, to small town house gardens and swimming pool terraces. We hope that the before and after pictures, plus the client’s initial briefs and reviews demonstrate the creative design solutions a garden designer needs to come up with to suit your particular living needs and objectives.

To discuss your garden design requirements please contact Karen on 01206 323 678 or email info@karenchamberlain.co.uk.

Posted in News