Blog Archives - Garden Design Sussex

Sandstone Paving- beautiful but troubling

Most of my clients love Indian Sandstone, with its rich varied colours, textures and ability to age gracefully. Historically in the UK we enjoyed York stone, also a sandstone, until it became too expensive for most people. Over the years I have become interested in where the sandstone we use comes from and how it is produced. Sandstone can be found across the globe in places where there once was high sand accumulation like riverbeds, deserts and coastal areas. There are many variations in colours from reds and yellows to golden browns as well as it being highly durable making [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-02-11T14:09:24+00:00February 11th, 2025|Articles, Autumn, Blog, Garden Art, Places, Small Gardens|Comments Off

Designing with climbers

Using climbers in your garden design is a great way to utilize your space, particularly in a small garden, as well as bringing in design elements such as texture and colour to create a more three dimensional space. Also, by growing climbers up fences you can make your garden feel much bigger as the leaves of the climber will absorb light, rather than the light bouncing off fence panels which tend to make a garden feel smaller. Climbers are plants which grow vertically whether that be through trees or shrubs or up vertical surfaces like cliffs or walls. These plants [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-02-11T14:08:29+00:00February 11th, 2025|Articles, Autumn, Blog, Climbers, Garden Art, Places|Comments Off

Arundel Castle: A Journey Through Its Enchanting Gardens

Nestled in a broad valley of West Sussex, Arundel Castle stands as a testament to centuries of history and architectural grandeur. Founded in 1067 by Roger de Montgomery the castle has a rich past with elements of the medieval gatehouse and Norman keep that is still intact today. This was added to in the gothic architecture style that was applied when the 15th Duke of Norfolk refurbished the main house in the late 19th century. The castle isn’t the only part of the grounds which have been restored as the gardens are designed to mirror the complexity of the castle’s [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-01-20T10:23:46+00:00January 20th, 2025|Articles, Blog, Places|Comments Off

The World of William the Woodlice

As Winter deepens, little creatures in our gardens curl up and go to sleep. They are the woodlice, maligned by many, appreciated by few, even though they have been harmlessly, importantly munching on decayed wood and leaves for 110 million years. They exist in every continent apart from Antarctica, with over 3500 species worldwide, some even have 7 pairs of lungs. Despite common misconceptions of woodlice being insects, they are actually more related to crabs and lobsters. They’re classified as isopods, which means ‘equal feet’, and they’re the only creature of their type to have successfully colonised [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-01-20T10:22:42+00:00January 20th, 2025|Articles, Blog, Places|Comments Off

Elements and principles of garden design

When designing a new garden, or looking with fresh eyes at your old one, its useful to understand the key elements and principles that go into sculpting a beautiful and functional outside space. Even with limited experience using elements such as colour and texture, along with principles like proportion and balance can help the space feel harmonious as you consider all aspects and required functions of the land and what’s needed to make it look its best. As well as collecting images online of gardens that you like, you can begin to see the garden like a designer would, following [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-01-20T10:21:48+00:00January 20th, 2025|Articles, Blog, Garden Art|Comments Off

Sandstone: is it a sustainable landscaping material?

Sustainability is the practice of meeting our current needs without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own, this involves protecting natural resources, emphasising responsible production and supporting a fair quality of life. It’s important to question whether our landscaping materials fit into these criteria or are they causing unknown damage. What is sandstone/ how does it form: Sandstone is a sedimentary rock that is made of sand grains between 0.05mm to 2mm. It forms in areas where sand is deposited, such as seabed’s, by rivers or in deserts. To turn sand deposits into rock a process of [...]

By Andrew Staib|2025-01-20T10:20:03+00:00January 20th, 2025|Articles, Blog|Comments Off

The Power of Small Trees

Creating a canopy atmosphere in your small garden Some people are frightened of trees, fearing they will grow too big, involve annual costly pruning and block out precious light to the house. One of my weekly jobs as a garden designer is to get on my knees and beg people to take the plunge. I have seen so many trees outgrowing their spot in a garden that I am hereby willing to share my secrets! A small tree can give a sense of height to the smallest of gardens without necessarily dominating the space. This height allows the garden to [...]

By Andrew Staib|2024-02-16T16:31:23+00:00February 16th, 2024|Articles, Blog, Trees|Comments Off

Designing a Dry Garden

A dry garden doesn't rely on rainwater, irrigation or feeding to survive. Instead, plants are chosen for their drought-tolerance. If you have a busy life and don’t have much spare time to spend maintaining your garden a dry garden is one for you. Also it conserves water for the nation and gives you a powerful taste of the Mediterranean. The first thing that you need to consider if whether your plot of land is suitable.. The space should be open and have access to lots of sunshine. The poorer the soil the better as your dry tolerant plants will need [...]

By Andrew Staib|2024-02-06T15:25:39+00:00February 6th, 2024|Articles, Blog|Comments Off

Rewilding a Walled Garden

The Knepp Estate in West Sussex is now world famous for its rewilding experiment, with two farmers giving over their 3,500 acre farm to natural forces, with the resulting explosion in rare wildlife making its home in the scrub and long grasses of the once grazed fields. Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell have now turned their gaze to the house’s walled garden, which was preserved mainly as a croquet lawn. Learning from their observations from over 20 years of the rewilding project, they were keen to experiment, and see if one could ‘rewild’ a large domestic garden. She enlisted the [...]

By Andrew Staib|2024-02-06T15:22:13+00:00February 6th, 2024|Articles, Blog|Comments Off

West Dean- Creative Spaces

Like all Head Gardeners, Tom Brown can’t speak without stooping to pull out the odd weed as we make our way around West Dean Gardens. With 100 acres of garden including an Arboretum , College grounds, 13 Victorian greenhouses, orchards, walled gardens and plenty of other interesting spaces, he has a lot to do in a day. Made into an educational trust by Edward James in 1964, the college, which is situated in the heart of the gardens, fulfilled Edwards desire to nurture music, traditional crafts and the fine arts, which he feared would go into decline after the Second [...]

By Andrew Staib|2024-01-27T13:58:59+00:00January 27th, 2024|Articles, Blog|Comments Off