About us
We create beautifully designed gardens. Our planting expertise is exceptional. There’s an array of evidence proving that quality time spent outdoors enhances your physical and mental health. Every day we’re working to design and build outstanding gardens for our clients, we love our work and our clients love their beautiful new gardens.
Judy Shardlow
Judy Shardlow is a qualified garden designer member of the Society of Garden Designers (pre-registered) with a diploma in Garden Design from Capel Manor School of Garden Design and a diploma in Planting Design from the London College of Garden Design.
She has won RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) and BALI Awards for her work, as well as other credits including a distinction in Planting Design from the prestigious London College of Garden Design.
Claudia Clements
Claudia is a qualified architect graduating with a BA (Arch) and Diploma in Architecture from Kingston University, she also holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Light and Lighting. She has over 20 years lighting design experience working at the forefront of lighting design on a large number of prestigious and varied projects and is an associate with Heartwood Garden Design, designing lighting schemes for larger domestic gardens and commercial projects.
Planting design expertise
Our planting expertise is exceptional.
Judy holds a distinction in planting design from the London College of Garden Design, also winning the best in year graduate award for the same qualification. In 2014 she won an RHS Silver Gilt at Gardeners World Live, followed by a BALI Award for a garden in Harpenden in 2016.
How we work
We create a design brief based on our conversations with you, concept visuals and scale designs. We use 3-D visualisations to provide you with a walk through of your new garden and we find that this a valuable visualisation tool alongside concept boards.
We provide clear understandable drawings, with high quality material specifications and construction details. An excellent build is based on high quality clear drawings.
We work with BALI (British Association of Landscaping Industries) qualified landscapers to complete the construction of your garden. We also work with skilled specialists including sculptors, carpenters and stone masons. We are with you step by step through the design and build of your new garden, guiding you through the process to a stunning new garden.
Creativity
Creative spatial thinking is at the heart of garden design, making smaller spaces seem larger, making larger spaces feel more intimate, cleverly linking a beautiful new home to a stunning new garden. We approach each design with fresh eyes keeping core design principles as our guide.
Honesty
We work with all of our clients, contractors and partners fairly and we believe that honesty, integrity and good communication go a long way towards successful working relationships. Our Design Process is clearly communicated and we work to the ethical standards of the Society of Garden Designers.
Communication
Excellent communication between ourselves, clients, contractors, architects, interior and lighting designers is key and it’s also something we excel at. We offer clarity at all stages of our Design Process and through our Tendering and Project Monitoring Services.
Sustainability
Naturally we don’t just love good design, we love the plants, animals, birds and even fungi that call them home. Our designs and aftercare prioritise sustainable materials, sustainable sourcing and ensuring that we’re building a home for nature as well as a beautiful garden for you.
We are champions of features that make a difference in gardens: flowing water that is accessible to birds and insects, pebble habitats that offer a home for beneficial insects, log piles, quality planting and native mixed and evergreen hedges. We strongly discourage the use of pesticides or herbicides in gardens that we have built and we fully support the Society of Garden Designers Sustainability Manifesto