When I approach a new garden, I do not believe I am looking at a blank canvas. I am looking at a plot that has a history, whether that be that a new build site with only a lawn or an established garden that has many plants that have lived there for many years or even generations. My first instinct is not to rip everything out and start again, it is to look, assess and talk about what a client loves, likes and hates about their garden and then start a discussion.

How we garden and how we design must take into account our changing climate and at a minimum, discuss the moral and ethical decisions we make when creating interventions in private spaces. However, this does not need to be a restriction, it just means we cannot go about business as usual, we have to question normal practice and find solutions, whilst making beautiful, diverse, functional, plant-rich spaces. We must work with nature, instead of against it.