Biography
Owner Jackie Cahoon developed her love of landscape as a child while wandering and dreaming among the hedgerows and moorlands of north west Ireland. For a long time she forgot how important this was to her but when a career in academic publishing came to an end, she was irrevocably drawn back to the natural world, retraining as a garden designer at the prestigious KLC School of Design, graduating with Distinction
Influences
Jackie studied languages and has travelled extensively throughout her working and personal life with a particular love for northern and central Europe. She takes inspiration from historical English gardens but equally draws on modern landscape ideas from further afield, e.g. the Netherlands, France, the US and Australia. She is a garden book fanatic especially books by and about women gardeners and designers. She constantly visits gardens for ideas and inspiration and follows design trends in architecture and interior design
Approach
"Designing a garden is an art and a process; it's about working with a unique set of conditions and issues to find solutions for a client's brief. I tend to start with a strong concept idea which then informs the style, atmosphere and planting. I like to test more than one concept with clients, then review and refine. The use of CAD 3D modelling is absolutely key and I love seeing the garden come to life during this process. Making a garden can be a highly disruptive undertaking for the land and its guardians, so I want to be as gentle as possible. Where possible, I use sustainable and local materials and source plants from British organic nurseries"
Elements
Gardens need a careful balance of hard and soft elements, of built structures and planting. Most need a robust patio for dining or relaxing, paths for navigation, and boundary treatments. Additional elements may include steps, walls, hedges, pots, raised beds, storage, pergolas or arches, water features and outdoor rooms. There is a huge number of materials and options on offer and the designer's job is to guide the client through these choices, staying mindful of local conditions and remaining sensitive to the character of the area
Planting
We don't have one style of planting, rather we work with clients' preferences in terms of style and atmosphere. So planting can be formal or naturalistic, minimal or immersive. We use good quality plants from favoured specialist suppliers to start the garden off well - a mixture of reliable and resilient plants and a few more unusual species for visual diversity
Flow
Gardens and gardening have a powerful ability to heal and soothe. Humankind is wholly dependant on plants and animals and spending time with them reminds us of the interconnectedness of things. A garden is both tranquil personal retreat and a space to connect with friends and family. If you are thinking of making changes to your outdoor space why not get in touch and hear more about what we can do for you
Our brief was mainly about the feelings and textures we wanted. Jackie instantly understood what we were looking for and created a design that surprised and delighted.
Dom, Hackney
Quality of finish was superb. Jackie has a great eye and had some really imaginative ways to answer our brief.
Joe, Dalston
Jackie helped us to transform a previously unloved space into an oasis of calm and tranquility. We use our garden every day now, with everyone commenting on what an improvement it made to our living space.
Irina, Islington