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I began my career working within the world of interior
design, working for Designers Guild in Chelsea and Smallbone of
Devizes within their creative departments, as an in-house
stylist for all their showrooms and photo shoots. For a few
years, I continued to work as a freelance photographic stylist
for editorials, still specialising in interiors.
From as early as I can remember, I have always had a passion for
plants and had the privilege of working as a volunteer gardener,
at the renowned Great Dixter; home of the late Christopher
Lloyd. In 1999, I took up a new career path as a Garden Designer
and have continued to do so to the present day. The projects I
have worked on have been primarily based within the Southeast of
England; Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and London as well as
some projects overseas.
I have designed a variety of gardens, from traditional English
Country in style, to contemporary outdoor living, from the small
town house or cottage garden, to large country estates.
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| I have always had an artistic
background; my Father being an artist working in oils, which was
discovered later in life and my mother a keen gardener. My
strengths in school and college were art and creatively based
subjects, beginning my career within the world of interiors and
photographic styling. I have been working as a Garden Designer
for the past 16 years. I come from a family of a long line of
passionate and obsessional gardeners particularly on my mother’s
side of the family. |
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My grandparents, great Uncles and Aunts
all lived in Ceylon, where they
ran tea plantations up in the hill country in the mid 1900’s.
Beautiful tropical gardens were created wherever they lived;
Alma, Nr Newralia, being the last before returning back to the
UK to live out their retirement years. My grandfather became a river baliff on the Avon on the
Sommerly Estate. As I child, having being brought up in the
Surrey countryside, I spent my days creating my own patch of
garden, surrounded by domestic pets, horses and ponies. Many
hours were whiled away with my brother and sister, building hay
houses and camps in the woods and fairy houses by the stream. My
mother would spend hours and hours creating beautiful gardens
surrounding our family home and would not come in until after
dark.
Following in her footsteps, as soon as I had the first home of
my own, albeit a 3rd floor flat in Blackheath, the pots and
window boxes multiplied and exploded with vegetation and
flowers. The houses grew as did the size of the gardens and many
years were spent, like my mother and predecessors before me,
developing and creating formal gardens, wild areas, vegetable
and woodland gardens alike.
I remember my first ever visit to The Chelsea Flower Show in
1987 and being blown away by the stunning show gardens. I could
not get my head around how entire gardens appeared to be picked
up and set down in the heart of the city, as though they had
always been there. At the time, my favourite was a re-creation
of the crumbling stone tower, clothed in wisteria and climbing
roses, at the gardens of Ninfa, Nr Rome. I was utterly
captivated and hooked. I think at that point my future destiny
as a Garden Designer was sealed. One day I will go to Ninfa,
that is a promise I made to myself many years ago.
I moved to East Sussex in the early 1990’s and had the good
fortune of living a stones throw from the renowned Great Dixter;
home to the famous gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd. I
became a volunteer gardener where I learned about propagation,
plants species and their varieties, good gardening technics and
an appreciation of shape and form and being creative with plant
and colour combinations.
As an off-shoot of this my children spent many an hour playing
in the gardens and getting lost in the vast network of tunnels
found running in-between the ancient yew hedges that provide the
backbone of this garden, nestled in the heart of the East Sussex
countryside. Now I have hopped across the border into the Weald
of Kent and presently living and working in the village of
Rolvenden.
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I do not consider my work to be formulaic or have any particular
style, as I approach every project with a fresh eye
and take into consideration all aspects i.e. The surroundings,
taking in the age and style of the buildings, a site
analysis considering light and shade, the soil conditions,
required levels of maintenance and the client’s requirements.
I try to create spaces which reflect the natural surroundings,
which flow and melt into the landscape, to be easy on
the eye, but at the same time awakens the senses. This applies
just as much to a country garden as a town or city
space, creating ‘rooms’, focal points and a sense of journey, no
matter how small the space.
It is important to maximise year round interest, so with this in
mind, I start building the ‘bones’ of the garden. This
can be in the form of hard landscaping e.g. pathways, terraces,
constructions, planters and sculpture through to
trees, hedging and topiary. These bones are then clothed in the
soft planting of climbers, perennials, annuals and
bulbs, with an emphasis on colour texture and form.
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| Site
Surveys |
Depending on the nature of the
project, it is sometimes necessary for a land survey to
be carried out. If this is the case and there is no
current up-to-date survey in existence, I will either
carry out the site survey myself, or for larger or
and/or more complicated sites, I work in conjunction
with a chartered surveyor. This would be quoted for
separately.
If the client has a preferred professional within that
field, I am more than happy to work alongside them. |
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| Plans |
Having established the clients
requirements, likes and dislikes, I will provide
sketches and working drawings, to then develop into
potential layout plans and any necessary concept
drawings. These are discussed with the client at length,
to fine tune and make any necessary alterations, prior
to drawing up a master layout plan, supporting concept
drawings and any technical specifications required.
These documents will contain and provide all the
necessary information; e.g. hard landscaping design and
proposed materials, measurements, positioning of
drainage, electricity and lighting cables etc. |
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| Story
Boards and Sheets |
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These act as additional visual aids, to give the client
a clearer idea of proposed styles, possible ideas for
hard and soft landscaping and planting etc. I also use
Pinterest and other social media to share my ideas with
clients. |
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| Plant
Lists and Sourcing |
Provision of comprehensive plant lists and where
necessary, planting overlay-plans. These will provide
detailed information on the plants proposed for the
project and the required quantities. Due consideration
is given to the most suitable plant for each given
environment, in which it is to grow and thrive.
I have a wealth of contacts
within the plant world, both here in the U.K. and
overseas; e.g. the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. I am
able to source both the everyday ordinary garden plants
to the most extraordinary! |
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Implementation |
| Over the years, I have worked
with several landscaping companies, both large and
small. I am able to introduce whom I consider best
suited for the job and am happy to meet any other
contractors, preferred by the client. A full set of
plans and drawings are then issued to prospective
contractors for tender. |
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| Project
Management and Sourcing |
I will oversee and manage a
project through from its start to completion, liaising
with the contractors and site manager, to ensure the
best possible job is achieved both in terms of quality
of workmanship, running within the given timescale and
ensure value for money.
It is possible for me to source both materials for the
hard landscaping, such as reclaimed York stone and
French limestone to hardwood decking and glass
balustrade or bespoke ironwork, as well as garden
ornaments, statutory and furniture. |
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| Garden
Maintenance and Programmes |
I can offer a tailor made
maintenance service, devised according to the
requirements of any particular garden. This can be for
regular maintenance or a one off service such as
clearance, hedge work, pruning, digging etc. This
service is quoted for upon request.
A maintenance programme comprises of a document,
detailing all the plant varieties used within a scheme,
where they have been planted and instructions on their
aftercare. |
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More portfolio studies coming soon...
The Portfolio above shows a
small percentage of the gardens I have created. We will be
adding more to this section soon but in the meantime you can
contact me to arrange a meeting if you would like to see more
examples of my work. |
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Please contact me for an initial, no
obligation chat if you would like to talk about your garden. I
do understand how personal garden design can be and I would be
more than happy to talk about your ideas and vision. Just email
me, call me or message me on Facebook if you would like to book
an appointment.
Mobile
07957 445 057
Email
info@catherineberkeleygardens.com
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