We are a climate conscious company and feel it is our responsibility to design low footprint gardens which, when managed in the right way, will be regenerative in the longer term. When designing, alongside the client’s specific requirements, our choices, building methods and material suggestions are made keeping sustainability and the environment in mind. We list out the ways in which a garden should be designed and managed in our design proposals. This year we plan to start calculating the carbon footprint of our projects to better inform our design decisions and suggestions.
We always include as many trees, native species and other beneficial plants to support as much wildlife and biodiversity as we can. Our designs include habitats such as ponds, small water features, log piles and more to benefit pollinators and other wildlife. These can be design features or really subtle inclusions – either way their presence will still be enjoyed by visiting wildlife. Our aim is to create beautiful and long lasting gardens for the future which bring great pleasure to their owners and inhabitants.
We believe that, with the right input, every garden can look beautiful whilst still being functional and environmentally-minded. We work using a soft touch gardening approach. This means gardening in a gentle, environmentally focussed manner. We achieve this in many ways including through using only peat-free compost and never using pesticides or other chemicals. We avoid power-tools where possible, which can bruise plants as well as being noisy and using unnecessary electricity or fuel.
We work on the principle that “one person’s weed is another person’s wildflower”. We encourage leaving non-invasive wildflowers in the garden when and where suitable. We know that with regular, high quality garden care, pernicious weeds can be kept on top of and weakened gradually with no detrimental effect on the other plants and wildlife around them.
We look after gardens in a way that respects nature and the environment. For design clients not using our garden care services, we will guide them on how to do this themselves. We encourage clients to compost suitable waste in their garden to turn it into valuable (and free!) feed for their beds. We also encourage the use of water butts to use when watering and include space for these in our designs whenever possible.
We take our responsibility as a small business seriously. We recently invested in a fully electric van which we use for visiting garden care clients and making site visits to design projects. We use an ethical bank, regularly pester suppliers regarding their packaging choices and choose to source plants from responsible local growers, who use peat-free compost, offer recycling of plant pots and don’t need to drive hundreds of miles to deliver to us. In the studio, we use recycled paper, printing out as little as possible, and are powered by a green energy provider.
Gardens by Anna Butterfield offer professional garden and planting design across London and the South East.
Our expert, organic garden care service is available across South East London as well as parts of Kent and Surrey.
