Sopwell House – Luxury after Lockdown..

  Looking for some luxury after lockdown? Today’s the day that our wonderful clients at family-run Sopwell House Hotel finally reopen their doors again to their guests. For the first time in months, visitors will be able to enjoy the hospitality of their brasserie, cocktail lounge, conservatory, bedrooms and the ample grounds we designed there. [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:44:44+00:00July 16th, 2020|Blog|

Health, Happiness and Horticulture for The Royal Horticultural Society at RHS Chelsea 2016

  This is the exact spot where I stood as a student in 1997 when I arrived to help the wonderful Lady Xa Tollemache of Helmingham Hall Gardens on her RHS Chelsea garden for The Evening Standard way back in 1997. I was signed up to stay for a day as an extra pair of [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:44:49+00:00May 23rd, 2020|Blog|

RHS Chelsea Flower show 2011 – remembering to be bold.

Try as I might, I cannot get the RHS Chelsea Flower Show out of my head and I am so grateful to this show for the wealth of memories. The Chelsea Flower Show is many things to many people, but for many designers, it’s a place where you can flex your creativity, and if you’ve [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:00+00:00May 13th, 2020|Blog|

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Memories of Gold Medal Winning 2010

This Sunday my mind returns to a life-changing moment back in 2010, when my dear friend Jane Owen telephoned to ask if I'd consider doing a show garden at RHS Chelsea with her. She'd recently stayed with a community of Baka hunter-gatherers for a few days in a remote part of southern Cameroon a few [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:08+00:00May 3rd, 2020|Blog|

Be one in a million: Plant a tree to fight climate change #EveryTreeCounts

At AMPG we are passionate about how the role our gardens can play in helping to fight against climate change, but we know it is often difficult to know where to start.  This month we have been inspired and enthused by the Woodland Trust’s Big Climate Fightback. We would like to ask you to start [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:15+00:00November 27th, 2019|Blog, News|

Your autumn bulb planting questions answered

It’s a busy and important time of the year for garden forward planning with the added pressure that many of these tasks are time-sensitive too; at AMPG, there’s no doubt that we entering prime planting season. But whilst you’re considering plugging border gaps with herbaceous, trees or shrubs, don’t forget about that group of plants [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:17+00:00September 23rd, 2019|Blog|

Ian Jakeway Joins Ann-Marie Powell Gardens

Ian Jakeway, AMPG's newest team member. As practice principal, I'm delighted to introduce our newest team member, Ian Jakeway, who brings a host of experience and talent to Ann-Marie Powell Gardens. Here, in his own words, he describes what makes him tick. Ian, welcome to AMPG. "I have always loved being outside and [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:18+00:00September 11th, 2019|Blog|

Springload your borders with Ann-Marie Powell Gardens

Finally, the days are getting brighter and ever so slightly longer, and as adventurous stems begin to unfurl from long slumbering soil, the optimism of the new garden season reaches from the border into our studio. March is the time that farmers to begin planting spring crops and us gardeners to prise open sheds and [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:19+00:00March 5th, 2019|Blog|

Fall in love with your garden – and reclaim grown-up space…

Having just returned to the studio after maternity leave, whilst at home with my new baby, I heard the phrase: 'Remember to look after yourself and take time off as a couple once you have had the baby' countless times. ''Yes yes, of course, I will'', I *might* have dared to think, assuming I'd master [...]

By |2020-09-23T20:45:20+00:00February 14th, 2019|Blog|