Brockley, 2023 – Present

Photos by Sam Jones.

This garden is an ongoing collaboration with Seb Bowden. A shared garden, it began with one half almost completely overtaken by neglected scrub.

Together, we have transformed this area into a naturalistic meadow, alongside mixed herbaceous borders and a scree garden. The planting is intentionally diverse and evolving, creating a garden that feels both abundant and connected to its surroundings.

A key consideration throughout the design has been resilience. The garden is continually being developed to respond to increasingly intense and unpredictable weather, using robust planting and approaches that can thrive through changing conditions.

A strong ethos of reuse runs throughout the garden. We take a wabi-sabi approach to materials, embracing the character and imperfections of what already exists rather than introducing new materials wherever possible. Old bricks, tiles and fallen timber are repurposed throughout the garden, while dead hedges provide habitat and structure for wildlife.

We also make use of homemade compost, returning organic material to the soil and continually building fertility on site. These practices are as much a part of the garden’s aesthetic as its ecological approach — allowing materials to weather, age and develop character while creating a garden that feels naturally embedded in its surroundings.