I love designing gardens - and it’s not just about the gardens and plants, it’s the connections that are made with the owners in the process that make it special. People intrigue me, and to design their garden well we have to know who we are designing for - because essentially it’s not my garden, it’s
Sorry I've been tardy, neglecting my blog and Facebook page but hopefully I'll get some time to rectify this soon. To get kick started I've attached a link to an article by Louise McDaid that featured one of our Terrigal gardens in Inside Out Magazine in May. We love this garden which was constructed and
2017 was a big year for Michael Cooke Garden Design. We've completed some really rewarding designs and the landscape contractors we work with have been implementing them beautifully. Time flies, and Mark finished up working with me after seven years and Ben swiftly moved in to fill his shoes. After studying and working in London,
This morning after I had finished at the gym I was drove through a hidden valley not far from home on the Central Coast - it was early, only 6.30 and the garden I was returning to is one I have been working on with the owner Clayton for a few years. As we walked around
This morning I called out to visit friends – to revisit a garden that we designed a few years ago and see the progress. We spoke a week ago to arrange a time hoping that it would be a bright sunny day, and today was perfection. It’s a big garden so the upkeep was always going
Early last week I was asked to call in to see the progress of a garden that we designed a few years ago. Good gardens aren’t built overnight as they are on television, and the bespoke screen that we had designed to give the owners privacy had just been installed. On this project we have used
Travelling has refreshed me and opened my mind to the unique beauty of our own homeland. This past week Mark and I were in Hunter Valley wine country, which in Winter is very beautiful in its own special way. We have just completed another Hunter Valley design, which we began directly preceding my holiday in France,
We work with quite a few teams of talented landscape contractors every day who transform our paper designs to real gardens, and for this we are truly grateful. One such contractor is Andrew Noble from Cornerstone Landscaping who is transforming his first acreage into an inspiring place to come home to each day. And as his office is