Our part being Oxfordshire and parts of Bucks and Berks (see map). What plants will and won’t be happy here? 

As with so many straight questions, the answer is, you guessed, it depends. But generally speaking it’s not necessarily always complicated. 

It can be though. One garden in Nettlebed where we worked contains deep pits, where in times past, clay was dug for the local pottery. In this part of the garden, the soil is acid, but take a step or two away from the pits and there is an abrupt change to an alkaline soil.  

In the garden of a well-known author, on top of the Chilterns, grows a superb collection of azaleas, camellias, eucryphias and other acid-loving (chalk-hating) plants. The garden lies within the acid cap which spreads irregularly over the hills. 

So some plants have marked preferences for acid or alkaline soils, but there is a huge range that will thrive where the soil is slightly acid or slightly alkaline to neutral. One needs to know the soil type when preparing a planting plan. One can test for this with an inexpensive pH kit from a garden centre, but this is a bit tedious as samples have to be taken from all around the garden. Results can mislead, because many gardens have imported soils overlaid on the original soil. A good guide is to look for local indicator plants, such as the presence or absence of acid-lovers such as rhodondrons and azaleas and bracken. Some native and crop plants are also good indicators. 

The plants in our monthly gallery ‘Name this plant’ are mostly happy in neutral to alkaline soils, because they seem to be more common in our gardens. 

The gardener must also consider other characteristics of the site. Is it exposed and windy, or sheltered? Which way does it face and how much sun will each part receive? Is it wet or dry and when? Does it drain well?  

Many more exotic plants, like cannas, bananas and palms suffer from shredded leaves on windy sites. There is a limited, but good repertoire of plants that are happy in shade, including box, holly, laurel, euonymus and other shrubs and herbaceous perennials such as hostas, heucheras and Japanese anemones, to name just a few. (And most ferns.) 

Many garden plants succumb to the combination of cold and wet, especially when prolonged in winter. Many Mediterranean herbs and the fashionable plants from South Africa hate these conditions and turn up their toes. Alpines need shelter from winter rain as well as fast drainage at their roots. Many of the South Africans not only need to drain freely in winter, but must not dry out during their growth in the summer. 

For the most part therefore, our gallery features plants that are good all-rounders that have proved their survival skills in our part of the world. 
 

Building a new garden is a longer process than at first may be imagined.

There’s much more to it than digging out a new border or two and putting in some plants, although this it may well be at its simplest.First, there’s the briefing meeting (which Brannfords offers free), then we write up and cost a specification to produce a budget.

This can be several hours’ work and invariably has to be fitted in amongst ongoing work and may be in a queue with other briefs. This stage may take from 2 days to 3 weeks, depending on workload.Next, with an approved specification and budget work may begin. We must now draw up a to-scale ground plan. Frequently ground must be cleared and herbicide applied to get rid of unwanted weeds and other plants.

There may also be a ‘groundwork’ phase, when we move earth around or out of the garden (or bring more in) and install drainage if needed. This may take from 3 – 8 weeks, depending on the weather.The next stage is usually hard landscaping such as patios, paths, walls, pergolas, trellis, etc. Again, this can take some weeks.While this is going on, we prepare a detailed planting list for approval, then start to collect the plants. We can then lay lawns and start planting. Allow 2-4 weeks, again depending on weather.Finally, we lay down an irrigation system (if required) and mulch over the planting to retain moisture and reduce weed growth.

This process may therefore take 3-4 months or longer. The reality is nothing like the impression created by instant TV garden makeovers. Ideally, it should be timed for an early autumn brief, so that groundwork is done before the ground gets too wet. It’s good to do hard landscaping over the winter, when landscape gardeners have a little less gardening to do.

Then we plant trees, shrubs and roses over the winter and herbaceous in the spring.This is of course an ideal. In practice, we build gardens all-year round. In addition, we plant bulbs in autumn and spring, so a winter-spring planted garden may wait for bulbs until the autumn.Absolutely the best time to start the process? In August (or even July) for a garden completed ready for the following year. But don’t despair, work can start more or less at any time.