Contemporary Surrey garden with layered planting and stone terrace

The Journal

Garden design and landscaping insight

Practical advice, design thinking and project stories from our Surrey studio — written to help you plan a garden you will genuinely use.

All articles Garden Design Landscaping Hard Landscaping Planting Outdoor Living Garden Maintenance Garden Rooms Driveways & Patios

An evening view of a landscaped British garden featuring a red-brick house, stone patio seating, and warm, layered lighting illuminating the paths, plant borders, and a prominent tree.

Garden Design

How to Plan Garden Lighting for Your Outdoor Space

Planning garden lighting? Learn how to combine practical, ambient and feature lighting to create a well-designed outdoor space that looks great after dark.

Mekail29 September 20268 min read

A partially built patio showing laid stone slabs alongside the exposed mortar and aggregate sub-base.

Driveways & Patios

What Goes Under Patio Slabs? A Guide to Patio Foundations

What goes under patio slabs? Discover how a proper patio foundation is built, including the sub-base, bedding layer, drainage and ground preparation.

Mekail29 September 20267 min read

A new timber fence panel installed between older concrete slotted posts in a suburban garden, featuring a green lawn, mature plants, and a traditional red-brick house in the background.

Fencing

Can You Replace Fence Panels Without Replacing the Posts?

Can you replace fence panels without replacing the posts? Learn what to check before replacing your panels, including post condition, spacing, gravel boards and compatibility.

Mekail29 September 20267 min read

A landscaped suburban garden featuring a stone patio with a wooden pergola, a fresh green lawn, structured plant borders, and a traditional red-brick house.

Landscaping Advice

What Happens During a Full Garden Transformation?

Planning a full garden transformation? Discover what happens at each stage, from the initial design and groundworks to hard landscaping, planting and the finished garden.

Mekail29 September 20266 min read

A lush, north-facing UK suburban garden featuring a paved stone pathway, a wooden patio seating area, and abundant shade-tolerant plants like ferns and hostas, with a traditional brick house in the background.

Garden Design

How to Make a North-Facing Garden Work

A north-facing garden doesn't have to feel dark or unusable. Discover practical planting, layout, paving and lighting ideas to make the most of your garden.

Mekail28 September 20267 min read

A newly installed timber fence in an autumn UK residential garden, featuring a cutaway view of the lawn that reveals the wooden fence post secured in an underground concrete footing.

Fencing

How Deep Should Fence Posts Be?

How deep should fence posts be? Find out how far to bury fence posts, what affects the required depth and how to get a stable, long-lasting fence in Surrey.

Mekail28 September 20266 min read

A newly planted young tree with autumn leaves, supported by a wooden stake in a circular mulch bed, set in a neat UK suburban garden with a brick house in the background.

Planting

Why Do Newly Planted Trees Fail?

Newly planted trees can struggle for several reasons. Discover the most common tree planting mistakes and how to help young trees establish successfully in Surrey gardens.

Mekail28 September 20266 min read

A close-up of heavy, dark clay soil freshly turned in a garden border, surrounded by mature green plants and a lawn, with a traditional red-brick UK house in the background

Landscaping Advice

How Do You Improve Heavy Clay Soil?

Heavy clay soil can be difficult to work with, but it can be improved. Learn how organic matter, mulching, drainage and planting choices can transform your garden soil.

Mekail28 September 20267 min read

A garden drainage trench alongside a lawn and planted border, showing a black perforated drainage pipe laid on gravel, with a traditional UK brick house in the background

Landscaping Advice

What Is a French Drain and How Does It Work?

What is a French drain? Discover how this underground drainage system works, where it can be used and whether it could help solve drainage problems in your Surrey garden.

Mekail28 September 20268 min read

A stone path through layered planting leading to a brick house in a Surrey garden

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