Plan Your Garden
If you’re looking for ideas for your garden or are interested in reading about our garden design topics, you will find them all here. Use the drop down menu for specific design topics or simply browse or use the search box in the bar above. Enjoy!
Environmentally Friendly Choices for your Garden Design
If you're thinking of re-designing your garden or an area of it, it is well worth taking some time to… Read more.
ALDA’s Garden Drainage Guide
Whilst garden drainage may not be the most riveting of gardening subjects, it is nonetheless an important factor in any… Read more.
Paving Comparison Guide
Choosing paving materials for your new patio can seem a little daunting - and understandably so. The decision you make… Read more.
A Quick Look At Lawn Shape
Whilst you might not always notice it, your lawn shape can greatly affect the look and feel of your garden.… Read more.
Plants for Winter Wildlife
We can all give wildlife a helping hand this winter by planting some of these wildlife friendly plants in our… Read more.
Designing with Balance
We are all looking for balance in our lives and this is also reflected in our outdoor spaces. In this… Read more.
Ideas for a Beautiful Winter Garden
Read on for tips on how to make your garden extra special this winter. Read more.
Designing with plant shape and form
Considering the shape and form of plants is essential for any good garden design. Here we look at how plant… Read more.
Patio Design Guide
It is easy to underestimate the impact a new patio can have on your garden. This patio design guide takes… Read more.
Lawn Positioning
A lawn is usually a vital element to a garden design and often a key part of a client’s brief.… Read more.
What are the best lawn alternatives?
Traditional lawns lack biodiversity and can sometimes be tricky to maintain if your garden is shady or particularly small. In… Read more.
Using colour in your garden
Colour is an important part of any garden design. In most designs, it's the plants that provide the colour, so… Read more.
Long Flowering Perennials For Your Summer Borders
A well-designed garden provides interest from early spring through to late autumn. If clients are looking for a low maintenance… Read more.
Really Useful Little Plants
Every designer has a "go-to" list of trusty plants that they use many times and love because they will always… Read more.
The Planting Plan Process: How it works
With the weather starting to warm up and having spent a lot of time on designing and implementing planting plans… Read more.
Using Planting Texture in Design
This post looks at an often forgotten tenet of garden design - texture. If you're looking to add some texture… Read more.
Patio Design: Frequently Asked Questions
At this time of year, we have a stream of enquiries flooding in! We get lots of questions about paving… Read more.
How to encourage wildlife into your garden
However hard it is, lockdown does have it's benefits. On several of my recent visits, clients have mentioned that they've… Read more.
What to consider before your garden design consultation
January is often the time when we start to make plans for the new year. 2020 has highlighted to many… Read more.
Shrubs to add winter sparkle to the garden
The festive season has begun and as the temperature falls the garden is often seen as gloomy and dull and… Read more.
Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea)
The copper beech, also known as purple beech, has to be one of my favourite trees - I'm fortunate enough… Read more.
Plant Focus: My Two Favourite Asters
If Salvia ‘Caradonna’ is one of my go to plants for early-mid Summer, then Aster amellus ‘Violet Queen’ & Aster… Read more.
Using Curves in Garden Design
Have you ever noticed how the majority of gardens are rectangular in shape? It can be rather a headache for… Read more.
Plant Focus: Ornamental Alliums
One of the most widely recognised and used perennials, the ornamental Allium is a tough, easy to grow plant with… Read more.
Keeping It Simple
After the recent completion of a beautiful front garden in Newbury, I thought I would highlight how a design -… Read more.
Plant Focus: Salvia ‘Caradonna’
This is definitely one of my “go to” plants when preparing planting plans as it is so reliable, well behaved,… Read more.
Taking a closer look at Resin
ALDA Landscapes has been an accredited resin installer since 2018, installing resin driveways, paths and surfaces across Reading, Newbury and… Read more.
Angular Design
Making the most out of the space available in a garden is a key component to a great design. Often… Read more.