I see the collaboration with the client as being a key element of my gardens. For our award-winning “Town House Garden - East Sussex” https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/town-house-garden-east-sussex the client wanted to include topiary but was not looking for a traditional formal garden.

Repeated use of yew domes amongst naturalistic planting unifies the design and creates both a wonderful structure and a textural contrast that is a strong feature throughout the year.

It was something that was created in conjunction with the client - and we both loved the result.

It is interesting to cutback the ornamental grass plantings in stages. By February they can be quite beaten about and more importantly they are hiding the fresh new growth. However, the contrast of the straw colour with the fresh green of the native Hellebores still works nicely. The verticality of the C. ‘Karl Foerster’ continues to add depth to our deep borders the sedum still provides wonderful contrast and both still screen the square beyond.

Therefore this year I have experimented with cutting back the inner grasses and leaving the ones at the boundary. I have also edited, but kept, the skeletal forms of the cardoon - which still has seeds that the birds love. So far it looks like it has let in much needed light for the bulbs - and has been easier to achieve in the gaps between the rain. This may only be a temporary state but it feels like it has given a much needed refresh to the garden and I look forward to seeing it as the bulbs start to push through.

Ornamental grass plantings are some of the easiest to maintain. But by the end of February, and after all the recent rain, they aren’t looking their best. Now is the time to cut them back. Cutting deciduous grasses back to the base and combing through evergreen grasses to take out old, dead growth. So that they can once again put on a show for the Spring and year to come.

For more examples of grass plantings on our website go to: https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/scandinavian-modern-cotswolds‍ ‍and https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/town-house-garden-east-sussex or https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/coastal-garden-east-sussex.

It has been fantastic for our Town house Garden - East Sussex garden https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/town-house-garden-east-sussex to win the New Designer award at the SGLD awards 2026. It was a great evening and wonderful seeing so many other inspirational gardens and designers. In particular it was lovely to have this article from Gardenista which pulled out our garden as one of note. https://www.gardenista.com/posts/garden-visit-nicholas-mortons-2026-sgld-award-winning-coastal-garden/

Fantastic news for the studio as we were announced winner of the New Designer category at the Society of Landscape & Garden Designers (SGLD) awards last night. https://sgld.org.uk/events/awards/archive/winners-2026 with The English Garden https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/news-and-events/gardeners-makers/winners-of-the-2026-society-of-garden-landscape-designers-awards/ .

Being shortlisted for an SGLD award is an incredible validation for a young Design studio. As the body representing Garden designers in the UK I was proud to have our Town House Garden https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/town-house-garden-east-sussex selected for the New Designer shortlist. The awards recognise design creativity as well as the delivery of beautiful gardens and to be judged by your peers and placed amongst a group of such inspirational designers and projects was incredibly exciting. Clients are looking for someone that can work with them to address their specific brief and deliver outdoor spaces that enhance their quality of life. Gardens put forward for the SGLD awards are judged against these criteria and on real-world delivery of special spaces for the clients.

The winner was announced last night and I am absolutely thrilled to have won. A fantastic evening celebrating so many incredible gardens across different categories and the absolute cherry on the cake to also win this award!

The awards ceremony for the 2026 Society of landscape & Garden Designers (https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/gardens/garden-design/shortlist-announced-for-sgld-awards-2026/ ) is finally here.

Our Town House Garden - East Sussex (https://www.nicholasmorton.co.uk/landscapes/town-house-garden-east-sussex) is up for an award so our fingers will be crossed. Looking forward to the event and seeing lots of familiar faces later…

Over the last few months it has been a great to be part of a fantastic team working on the plans for a 20 bedroom boutique hotel in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Penrhadw Farm https://www.penrhadw.co.uk/development is the exciting development of a boutique hotel, restaurant and gardens by the client and led from a design perspective by George & Co Architecture https://www.georgeandco.studio/ . We are still at the planning stage but it is exciting to see how this has developed and how this is continuing to develop as we create the unified plans for buildings and landscape for this wonderful pastoral site located on the edge of the National park and with beautiful views up into the park and across to the Brecon Mountain Railway. Watch this space…

I’m never quite sure what I feel about the ‘Memories’ function on Social media apps. However, this came up on my feed this weekend for the anniversary of winning the Society of Garden Designers (SGD) student award in 2013 https://sgld.org.uk/events/awards/archive/winners-2013/#&gid=29&pid=1 . For once it felt appropriate, and a little nerve-wracking, as I am on the shortlist for another Society of Landscape & Garden Designers (Now the SGLD) award this weekend. Exciting to be in the company of so many amazing designers. Whatever happens it is a great evening and chance to see so many amazing people from the industry. Fingers crossed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8AKImL2Xm0

Creating a bespoke garden is a collaborative process.

The client for this project had a large quantity of Rosa Sceptr’d Isle they wanted to include in the design.

It wasn’t something I had thought about before – but it was exciting to go all in – adding more cream roses and chartreuse grasses to soften the palette.

We both loved the result. Often the best ideas come from a meeting of minds.

To bring your ideas to life and start your garden project contact us on studio@nicholasmorton.co.uk or 07958 235423.