Garden Design

connecting people to nature

With 40 year's experience, I create gardens which are immersive, ecologically driven, climate adapted and rich in diversity and beauty. Gardens are Nature's spring board into the next evolution of our ecosystems, all of which are in rapid flux as climate change becomes a major disruptor. Gardens I create are resilient and adapted to this new future: beautiful, useful, sheltering and peaceful.

I pay attention to your needs as the user of the space, utilising an understanding of design psychology to ensure the garden flows and moves in harmony, and that areas are zoned correctly to avoid conflicts of use. Style is applied once the ground rules are set.

Garden elements and plants must be pieced together with coherence to generate "critical mass.", which gives rise to timeless and intangible qualities. To give a garden good ecological balance, I beleive in never beautifying one environment at the expense of another and where possible, I observe the 80/20 rule: 80% softscape and 20% hardscape.

Design Services

To help you visualise your garden

As a creative, I visualise the transformation of a space through the structure, planting and time. It's not always easy to convey these ideas, so I give a lot of attention to producing graphics which can portray the idea. These are generally created from 3D computer modelling, with hand-drawn elements.

It's important that these images convey emotion and feeling, not just technical detail, yet they must ultimately translate into technical drawings, at least for hard-landscape elements.

I am also quite used to designing and producing documantation required to accompany planning applications.

 

A stream garden

A stream garden leading to a pond in the lower part of the garden.

A beach-front garden in West Sussex

A beach-front garden in West Sussex

Garden entrance to a steep terraced area

Garden entrance to a steep terraced area

An outdoor room surrounded by raised beds

An outdoor room surrounded by raised beds

A cross-ection of a new build showing raised planters etc.

A cross-section of a new house showing raised planters etc.

A formal water rill and fall

A formal water rill and fall

Naturalistic Planting

Adaptive ecologies for the planet

Natural planting for beauty, resilience and ecological benefit

Natural planting is of huge benefit in creating relaxing, biophilic environments that look good all year round. They are also highly beneficial for wildlife and make use of tough, insect-friendly, climate adapted plants.

Choosing the right plant for the place, in the right combination

Choosing the right plant for the place, in the right combination

Drifts or loose matrixes of plants through gravel

Drifts or loose matrices of plants through gravel

Dry coastal planting over an old driveway

Dry coastal planting over an old driveway

Drifts of Camassia on a woodland edge garden

Drifts of Camassia on a woodland edge garden

If you want a garden that connects you to nature and is climate adapted, I would love to discuss your project by phone, email or Zoom/Teams.

Site visits can then be arranged and are charged for; the cost reflects time and distance. Contact details are on Home or About pages.

mark laurence design ltd | adaptive landscapes for a changing world

©2025 mark laurence

http://www.marklaurence.com