Written by: Ashley Edwards
My journey into gardening began with a childhood fascination with nature, and it still shapes how I work today. I’m less interested in rigid aesthetics and more drawn to gardens that respond to their environment. I believe beauty and ecology go hand in hand and that we can create spaces that are visually engaging, resilient and full of life. That thinking underpins how we’re reimagining the walled garden at Crocus at Dorney, a historic walled garden, garden centre and café on the outskirts of Windsor.
Protecting our planting and the visitors from the sun
In the summer the walled garden can be a suntrap which is a real challenge for a lot of traditional British planting. To help protect the plants and provide comfort for the visitors, we’re focusing on trees rather than built structures, as they’ll cool the garden naturally by increasing humidity and filtering UV rays. We’re starting with three large Parrotia persica, previously used in a Chelsea garden and trained into parasol forms. They’re tough, wind-resistant trees that cope well with heat and recover reliably after drought.
Nature first planting
We’re increasing planting in areas currently dominated by hard landscaping and aggregate, creating dry beds with drought-tolerant plants. This allows us to reuse materials already on site and avoid irrigation once planting is established. Some lawn areas will be replaced with nectar-rich groundcover mosaics using plants like creeping thyme, clover and wildflowers.
