Seeing spring clearly (and planning what comes next)
There’s something about this time of year that makes you look at your garden a bit differently. Not in the flat, wintry way where everything feels like a problem to solve. But properly looking. Noticing where your eye goes, where it lingers… and where it doesn’t.
Spring has a habit of revealing things:
The patch that always looks a bit thin.
The colour combination that never quite lands.
The corner that gets ignored, year after year.
And then, occasionally, the opposite. A moment that just works. Effortless, balanced, and exactly how you’d hoped it might feel.
That contrast is useful.
Because this is the point in the year where you can make better decisions for the next one. It might feel slightly odd talking about bulbs when everything’s already in bloom, but this is exactly when you’ve got the clearest picture of what you want more of… and what you’d quietly rather not repeat.
That’s why we offer our pre-order bulb collections at this time. They’re not just bundles of bulbs. They’re combinations we’ve already worked through, tested, and refined so they sit well together and come up at the right moments. It takes away that slightly hopeful guesswork of planting in autumn and waiting to see what happens.
Instead, you’re working backwards from something you already know you like.
“The best gardens are rarely created in one go. They’re adjusted, season by season, until things start to click.”
Alongside that, we’ve also been working on something that sits slightly outside planting… but is very much part of how people use their gardens.
English Outdoor Kitchens
These came directly from our projects.
Clients didn’t just want somewhere to cook. They wanted something that felt like it belonged. Not a separate “feature,” but part of the garden’s rhythm. Somewhere you naturally drift towards. So we designed our own.
They’re made in Yorkshire, hand-painted, and deliberately simple in how they’re put together. Enough choice to feel considered, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. They’re built to last, both in terms of materials and how they look over time. And more importantly, they get used. Not just for cooking, but for those slightly unplanned moments… leaning on the worktop with a drink, gathering around while something’s on the go, stretching the evening out a bit longer than intended.
If your garden is starting to pull you outside more at this time of year, it’s usually a good sign that it’s ready for something like this. Not more stuff. Just something better placed.
