Catriona Rowbotham Garden Design

Catriona Rowbotham Garden Design Architect turned garden designer and tutor, creating beautiful, lasting urban escapes

The bees have already found my front garden planting, which went in only a couple of weeks agoI've included lots of ever...
28/05/2026

The bees have already found my front garden planting, which went in only a couple of weeks ago

I've included lots of evergreens and semi evergreens that don't need much maintenance; Sarcococca, Daphne, Polystichum, perennial Digitalis, Viola, Pulmonaria

These plants also have flowers for different times of the year to support pollinators

I've chosen a hawthorn hedge for it's blossom then berries but also because it's one of the best hedges for absorbing pollution and we live on a busy road

I've kept the hard landscaping permeable so there's no run off into our creaking Victorian sewerage system

I've installed a water butt to collect rain water and to also divert more water from the sewer system. Eventually it will be hidden by the Daphne!

As ever, I've also included planting for scent; Sarcococca and Dahpne, although I'll need to wait for late winter for those.

As much as I've made sustainable choices, it's also for ME! I'm already enjoying gazing at the emerging flowers, the busy bees and growing shrubs (they will get MUCH bigger) and I can look forward to some scent during the part of the year I find the most difficult

If you'd like to work with a garden designer that thinks about your own enjoyment of your garden as much as they think about sustainability then do get in touch

- easy contact form on website
- website link in bio

Last Friday afternoon I volunteered on Katerina Kantalis' gold medal and best in category winning balcony garden. Her aw...
26/05/2026

Last Friday afternoon I volunteered on Katerina Kantalis' gold medal and best in category winning balcony garden. Her awards were well deserved - people loved it so much! I was asked the same questions again and again and found myself putting my design tutor hat on to answer them.

In my 1st June email newsletter I'll be writing down all those design and planting tips for my readers as honestly, they apply to gardens of any size, not just a balcony. I'll be covering:

🌿 Big things in small spaces
🌿 Using vertical surfaces
🌿 Layering
🌿 Edimentals
🌿 Using annuals & tender perennials for seasonal scent

If you'd like to read more, join my newsletter via the 'free guide on what to do & when' link in my bio or comment 'TIPS' and I'll DM you the link to join

Chelsea Flower Show 2026The year that Spacelift, an AI app to design your garden was launched and in the face of that, a...
22/05/2026

Chelsea Flower Show 2026

The year that Spacelift, an AI app to design your garden was launched and in the face of that, a show that celebrates our humanity

The themes that recurred throughout were connection and craft and, as ever, beautiful planting

Many gardens emphasised the spaces created for connection with others or connecting with nature, from Parrick Clarke's The Children's Society Garden with its scaffold board perching spot, to Katerina Kantalis' balcony garden that celebrates a lifetime of shared knowledge, experience and a space to slow down and enjoy hobbies & gardening

At the same time high quality craftmanship was on display everywhere, from Sarah Eberle's Gaia sculpture (first 2 photos), which stole the show, to dry stone walling in the Forgotten Forests Garden to Katerina Kantalis' balcony garden with it's handmade potting tables, chairs & hand painted tiles

Show gardens are sometimes criticized for relying on built structures to add the 'wow' factor but Tom Stuart Smith's garden instead relied on their planting expertise with welcome restraint on hard landscaping (see images 5 & 6)

Some structures were quite brutalist as in the Killik & Co 'A Seed in Time' garden, but I personally loved how Baz Grainger had contrasted that with the planting, leaving no spot unconsidered (see photos 8,9,10) - LOVE that tiny pink rose

Anyway, enough serious talk - may have to do another post on some of the pretty planting that just made me smile! For now, off to volunteer there today

With Chelsea Flower Show 2026 well under way now, I already can hear and see what the discussions are likely to be but I...
19/05/2026

With Chelsea Flower Show 2026 well under way now, I already can hear and see what the discussions are likely to be but I’ll still be forming my own views when I see it

For now, here are my thoughts from Chelsea Flower Show 2025, by which time I had become much more involved in the garden design world through my teaching at The English Gardening School. In fact, half of my design students last year worked on the build of Manoj Malde’s garden, which turned out very nicely indeed!

Last year it was Tayshan Hayden Smith's resignation as RHS ambassador just before the show that prompted me to do some soul searching

To read more, head to my Substack, link in bio

Chelsea Chop this month, Hampton Hack the next....If you'd like to take an overview rather than reacting to monthly advi...
14/05/2026

Chelsea Chop this month, Hampton Hack the next....

If you'd like to take an overview rather than reacting to monthly advice as it happens and feeling a rising sense of panic, I have just the thing

'The Shape of the Gardening Year' is a one page calendar based guide, with plain English explanations of terms like these and guidance as to what's essential and what's optional

Head to my bio to download it for a calmer gardening experience:)

Been doing a little design work for myself for a change!The blank canvas has been set by with some simple planting beds...
12/05/2026

Been doing a little design work for myself for a change!

The blank canvas has been set by with some simple planting beds now cut out and waiting to be filled

Nice gravel refresh too since we last put it down 15 years ago!

Here's a preview of the planting palette - can't wait for delivery soon!

I know, I know, I tell everyone it's best to get their plants in the ground in autumn and here I am ordering plants in May - but now is the time I have, so here goes, and I'm sure many people will relate to that...

I'll need to water them carefully at this time of year, my tiny new water butt will help a bit - we just need more rain!

I popped by this garden yesterday with a couple of climbers I hadn't been able to get a hold of last September when most...
07/05/2026

I popped by this garden yesterday with a couple of climbers I hadn't been able to get a hold of last September when most of the planting went in

Nice to see Geum 'Prinses Juliana' repeating throughout this garden and brightening up some dull weather

Also nice to see all the furniture I recommended in place and to hear that my clients are really enjoying gardening the space and hanging out round the fire pit (both key parts of the brief, love a brief where the client wants to do MORE gardening!)

and I will return next month for Lian to cast her expert eye and lens here. By then it should have exploded into colour!


'I strongly believe that people need a calm, beautiful, safe space to relax, and that's just what makes a garden a diffe...
06/05/2026

'I strongly believe that people need a calm, beautiful, safe space to relax, and that's just what makes a garden a different kind of space from the rest of the natural world'

This was one of my main takeaways after writing this article about Chelsea Flower Show 2023, where the discussion about rewilding versus traditional horticulture took centre stage.

With the Chelsea 2026 build underway I thought I'd reshare a couple of articles I wrote about previous shows on Substack. See link in bio to read more.

I wonder what discussions this year will provoke?

The Community Orchard Ladywell Fields on this morning's dog walkJust a stone's throw away from Catford Bridge StationNot...
02/05/2026

The Community Orchard Ladywell Fields on this morning's dog walk

Just a stone's throw away from Catford Bridge Station

Not what you'd expect?

This is what good landscape design feels like

Is your garden a blank canvas?No? Hardly any gardens really are in my experienceThe photos above show a garden where we...
30/04/2026

Is your garden a blank canvas?

No?

Hardly any gardens really are in my experience

The photos above show a garden where we carefully retained some good climbers, helping the garden look mature not long after completion

This month I'll be talking about

🌿 what to keep and what to let go when it comes to shrubs, climbers & perennials
🌸 annuals to fill gaps if your not ready for decisions
🌼 perennial planting if you are!

May newsletter out tomorrow but it's not too late to sign up. Link in bio with free 'What to do and when' download as a bonus

Memories from an amazing long weekend with my swimming ladies Most Thursdays we meet up for a swim (and chat!) In For...
28/04/2026

Memories from an amazing long weekend with my swimming ladies

Most Thursdays we meet up for a swim (and chat!) In Forest Hill, London

This weekend we went to Prague, where (on the right) parents come from and she showed us the sights

Top tip (photo 2) St Wenceslas vineyard, next to the castle,where they grow a Riesling below the wine bar tables (delicious!) And a Pinot Noir above the tables. Those views!

I reckon Walt Disney must have visited here before drawing his castles....here are a few things that caught my attention

Detail, detail everywhere, everything so beautifully considered, even an archery slot (last photo collage)

Anyone else got a top Prague tip to share?

Address

69 Chudleigh Road
London
SE41JX

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+442030662015

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Catriona Rowbotham Garden Design posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Catriona Rowbotham Garden Design:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category