In the last five years more people are prioritising their gardens, according to Tom Winter, owner of Naturally Inspired Garden Design, and a designer who is inspiring homeowners to get involved with their gardens.
The personable Tom, who’s based in Gospel Oak and usually creates and maintains gardens in North and West London, including Belsize Park, explains, “For a long time before covid it was popular to have a contemporary low maintenance garden which would mostly look after itself. Sometimes people used to think of their gardens like kitchens, which they might at one time choose to remodel.”
“Nowadays most people see their gardens as a living entity and they want to get their garden right from the offset. I’d say that more people want to make a difference with their gardens, especially with the growing appreciation for wildlife.”
Tom’s clients are usually professionals in their 30s or 40s, or families; and he’s designed gardens for royalty too. His clients’ lives may be too busy, or they don’t have enough knowledge to create a garden which will “age gracefully and last for at least ten to fifteen years.”
Empty nesters also like to hire Tom, perhaps because they value his extensive experience. “I like to use up to date proven techniques and materials to reduce garden maintenance, but a lifetime of designing and planting gardens has taught me what to do and what not to do.”
There are two main pillars to Tom’s business. For any size and style of garden or peculiar and awkward outdoor space, Tom designs and offers a planting service. He can also give ad hoc specialist care such as small garden renovations.
As a designer Tom tends to steer towards long term durability, knowing that patios must withstand our damp, cold and rainy climate. Working with hard landscaping contractors (preferably local), Tom likes to design gardens with “long-lasting and forgiving materials…for example, you don’t want to be cleaning your stone paving with a pressure washer every two months because the paving doesn’t work with your lifestyle and location.” Occasionally Tom is asked to modify a garden design which is not working or install an irrigation system (which incidentally use 60% less water than a hose).
Commissioned patio with pergola and fish pond
Talking about his planting service makes Tom light up. As a prolific reader of gardening books, his desert island choice would be the annual RHS Finder guide! Yet it’s his length and broadness of experience that enables Tom to visualise how small plants will look when fully grown, to know which native self-seeding plants make a garden dynamic, and on a practical level, how to prevent future garden problems, and crucially how to nurture soil.
He says, “Poor soil and poor moisture levels are an issue. Frequently clients ask me about corners of their gardens where nothing seems able to grow.” Even when planting natural gardens, it’s rare that conditions are perfect enough for ‘a fire and forget’ approach. But then, Tom adds, “it can be really fun and interesting to curate a wild garden.”
North London low maintenance exotic garden
Having spent all his adult life building and maintaining gardens and also nature reserves, Tom Winter understands all aspects of running a landscape garden company.
For a good part of his vocation (his love for the outdoors began when he was a boy growing up in East Anglia and also travelling through most of America in his family’s Winnebago) Tom worked for a popular landscaping company which quickly promoted him from garden maintenance to a designer making day to day operational decisions. He’s got a knack with budgets as well as design vision. He knows that when it comes to planting sometimes compromises need to be made, but there’s no contesting Tom Winter is an expert gardener for all seasons.
For an initial consultation with Tom Winter:
Email: tom@naturallygd.com
Ph or Whatsapp: 07476 818107
www.naturallygd.com
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