BIG FISH Garden Design

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BIG FISH Garden Design

Designing gardens that become part of everyday life. Garden design, planting and consultation services. Based in South East London

05/11/2026

Choosing materials is about much more than just finding a paving slab you like!

I look at how colours and textures relate to the house, how one surface transitions into another, and how the materials will sit alongside the planting.

The practical details matter too: drainage, slip resistance, edges and how surfaces will weather over time.

A restrained well considered palette can bring a sense of cohesion to a garden – even when it contains several different spaces. These are the decisions that help the garden feel like one complete design 😊

03/11/2026

This Sydenham garden needed to do a lot without feeling crowded.

The clients wanted a generous place to eat and entertain, room for a pizza oven, more privacy, and practical space for bikes, growing vegetables and a small greenhouse.

The answer wasn’t to squeeze everything in independently. It was to work out which activities belong together, where screening would make the biggest difference, and how the materials and planting could connect the whole garden.

A garden can be practical and still feel calm, generous and inviting!

See more of the Sydenham Entertaining Garden in my portfolio – link in bio

02/10/2026

A successful garden for me isn’t just about how it photographs when it is finished. It’s about what happens afterwards and how people use it, how it changes with the seasons and how it naturally becomes part of everyday life.

This particular garden had a pretty demanding brief with a garden office, sauna and ice bath, dining terrace, reading area and plenty of planting or needing to coexist in one space.

Hearing that the finished garden not only works, but genuinely makes the clients happy is about as good result as I could ask for!

29/09/2026

From first idea to finished garden…

The brief for this Southeast London project was to create a tranquil place to sit in the sun, with a subtle Japanese influence.

Rather than trying to create a literal Japanese garden, I used the geometry of a traditional hand fan as the starting point for the layout. Black limestone and warm gold gravel created a simple material palette, while layered planting softened the geometry and helped to create the relaxed atmosphere.

One of my favourite parts of garden design is seeing something that began as a few lines on paper becoming somewhere people actually spend their time 😊

See a flavour of Japan in the portfolio on my website – link in bio

24/09/2026

‘Right plant, right place’ sounds almost too obvious.
But it’s fundamental to the way I approach planting design

Before thinking about flower colour, I want to understand the light, soil, moisture, available space and surrounding planting. Once you understand those conditions, the plant palette becomes much clearer.

Plants growing somewhere that naturally suits them are more likely to establish well, remain healthy and need less intervention – which ultimately makes for more resilient garden.

For me, good planting design starts with understanding the site, not with a shopping list of favourite plants.

Save this if you’re planning a new border!

Address

Catford
London
SE64DH

Website

http://www.bigfishgardendesign.co.uk/

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