JM Garden Design

Jonathan Mark Garden Design has won awards at Grand Designs Live, the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and other industry-leading events. In 2017, he turned garden designers' heads with a modern take on Victorian motifs. And in 2015, he showcased a more forward-looking approach with an emphasis on emerging technologies. Clients appreciate his passion for London landscaping, his skills as a designer, and his creative use of top-quality materials. Supported by a handpicked team of experienced specialists-in soft landscaping, hard landscaping, styling, and everything in between-every one of his projects is unique.

A successful garden design is not just about the layout, but also how the garden connects with nature. Using decking is a great way of bringing a more natural feel to your garden design, and there are many different types available. Much depends on budget, maintenance requirements and the aesthetic that each type provides. Decking types range from softwood to hardwood and now the composite variety, which contains recycled wood and plastic. Softwood is by far the cheapest to buy and takes the least amount of time to install, so if you have a tight budget then this is the best option.

Garden festures such as lighting can add such a warm glow. There are many different types of displays, so the lighting you choose should depend on what the garden is to be used for. If it is mainly a socialising garden or has a feature to be lit, then low-level ambient and spotlights might be best, while a lighting display when combined with evergreens means that even on the dullest winter evening your garden would look lush and inviting. Water features can be a soothing addition to any garden, whether it be a fountain or a gentle cascade.

As a garden design company we usually prepare a planting plan. For us to do so you would need to think through the type of plants you like. Do you like lots of textures using different greens? Would you want more architectural plants, like palms and acers, or do you prefer more colourful, country-cottage-type borders? It is possible to amalgamate the different planting styles. We often recommend using 75% evergreen plants, enabling us to screen the fence, then 25% of flowers whichare blue, white and purple, with maybe one variety of plant being a subtle red.

With so many different types of paving stones on the market, how do you pick the right one? Here we have listed the pros and cons of many, from the perfect and honed granite providing a contemporary feel, to riven textured Indian stone making the garden feel much more rustic and natural. Granite is known for being hard-wearing, and this is because of the density of the stone. All the molecules that make up granite are more compressed than in most other stones. The top surface of granite is flamed, which provides a textured finish.

In the last couple of years we have seen a big increase in demand for artificial turf (synthetic lawns), especially in smaller gardens. Before picking the type of turf you have to firstly look at what the area is going to be used for. Is it a family garden and do you have children who will be using it as a football pitch? If so, a more hard-wearing lawn will have to be chosen and a lawn with a smaller pile height. A pile height is the height of each grass blade. If the area is more ornamental then you should choose a longer pile height and a lawn that contains dead strands.

Choosing modern gardens designs over more traditional styles often means keeping it very simple with minimal designs, modern materials and careful use of colours. We work with your ideas and ensure we create a practical design with the space you have, which will look amazing alongside your home. Seating is vital in this modern garden design, not only for sitting on but also for dividing the space. Just as your house can be split into rooms, a garden can benefit from subdivisions. Here, the corner bench beautifully frames the focal point fire bowl as a clearly defined space for entertaining.