terka acton – Garden Design

Photo courtesy of Marienne Pachonick Architects / Radu Palicica

Photo: Chris Snook

Whether you need a sanctuary to escape to, somewhere to entertain friends and family, or both, I can design a garden that enhances your life.

I offer a range of garden design and planting design services. Based in south London, I work on projects across London and elsewhere in the UK.

My portfolio includes designs from roof terraces to family gardens of all sizes. For me, everything starts with listening closely to your needs and ideas: working closely with you is the best way to establish a clear brief and create a beautiful garden. My designs take their cue from the house and its surroundings, and feature strong, clean lines and resilient, luxuriant planting.

terkaactongardendesign

🌿Garden designer
🌿 Creating beautiful, imaginative gardens in tune with nature
🌿London-based

This week we finished work on a magical garden. It

This week we finished work on a magical garden. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with our amazing clients and @marienne_pachonick @buildupcity_ @j on the design and build of the garden, and with @jacksgardens @tracycole6724 and @eddlestonmcgrath on the ground prep and planting. There are so many beautiful elements, including @fleurkarageorghis delicate seedhead sculptures, a generous terrace, stunning lighting and a fabulous @parkerandcoop pond, but this part of the garden is really designed to highlight the natural beauty of the showstopper: an oak woodland belonging to the property that stretches high above the space, and back as far as the eye can see. Scroll right to the end for the before. #woodlandgarden #woodlandedge #woodlandedgegarden #oakforest

Cow parsley out in Norbury Park - despite the chil

Cow parsley out in Norbury Park - despite the chilliness today, spring is well advanced. I’ve just been to check on the build of a new front-and-back garden project that we’ll be planting up in early May - so looking forward to these final stages! #gardendesign #londongardens #frontgarden #smallgardendesign #plantingdesign #plantingup

Lovely to see this naturalistic planting looking g

Lovely to see this naturalistic planting looking good as it goes into its third year. These bespoke metal @bikebox.london structures can be clad with timber, as here, or left plain. They are remarkably adaptable when it comes to complementing existing architecture - and concealing bikes, bins and other necessities…

Silene dioica, or Red Campion, is always one of th

Silene dioica, or Red Campion, is always one of the first wildflowers to appear - it loves the dappled shade at the end of my garden.

I have loved working with our excellent clients an

I have loved working with our excellent clients and @stigs_gardens on the front garden of this late Victorian villa in Honor Oak. The brief was to add soul to this space - the best brief ever! This has been done with a very light touch, retaining the existing driveway and gravelled areas while editing the overcrowded trees and creating planting beds to add life to the space. Bins are tucked away behind a simple screen. The striking black-and-white detailing on the facade is original, and we echoed this in the generous black slate path, in the restoration of the wrought-iron gate and large timber gates to the back, and in the new circular planting bed around the magnolia tree. Gorgeous plants from @provendernurseries, and planting help from @aneta.fejza . Thank you to @hmgdns for the recommendation! Scroll to the end for ‘before’. #landscapedesigner #landscapedesign #gardendesigner #landscapingideas #gardendesign
#gardendesigninspo #gardening #gardenstyle #gardentour #familyhome #familygardens #gardeninspiration #houseandgardens #plantingdesign #plants #outdoorplants #plantinspo #urbangarden #frontgardendesign #greeninggreybritain #sustainablegarden #sustainablegardendesign

Magical field trip today with @marienne_pachonick.

Magical field trip today with @marienne_pachonick. These gardens are amazing - so much inspiration for shady/woodland edge planting. Congratulations to Misako Kasahara and your team! #plantingdesign #landscapedesign #shadyplanting #shadyplants #woodlandgarden

White spring bulbs lighting up a grey day on our I

White spring bulbs lighting up a grey day on our Islington project with @nordland_landscapes , now in the excellent care of @groombridge_gardens #plantingdesign #landscapedesigner
#landscapedesign #gardendesigner #gardendesign
#gardendesigninspo #gardening #gardenstyle
#luxurygardens #quietluxury
#houseandgardens
#urbangardening #urbangardens

Happy Easter! I’ve been dodging the rainclouds h

Happy Easter! I’ve been dodging the rainclouds here in my own garden today, doing a bit of weeding and prepping. The raised beds will be filled with climbing beans, potatoes and strawberries, along with salads and sweetpeas. Permanent inhabitants of this area include gooseberries, raspberries, sorrel and Daubenton kale, along with trees, shrubs, roses and a patch of wildflowers. A few weeks ago the neighbours at the end had almost all of their trees cut down, which was a bit traumatic but has massively increased the available light - it will be interesting to see how things change as a result. #veggiepatch #ediblegarden #growfood #fresh #harvest #tomatoes #veggiegarden #fruit #vegetables #kitchengarden #edible #edimentals #perennialveg #raisedbeds #daubentonkale

Pittosporum flowers are often described as ‘insi

Pittosporum flowers are often described as ‘insignificant’, but they are beautiful: this is my favourite ‘Irene Paterson’, now bearing tiny, fragrant deep purple blooms. I love the foliage of this medium-sized pittosporum - it looks as though white paint has been flicked at the pale green leaves. A very useful evergreen, and hardier than some pittosporums. #pittosporumirenepaterson #pittosporum #pittosporumtenuifolium

This London garden on two levels has been a pleasu

This London garden on two levels has been a pleasure to work on. It is a garden designed, built and planted with entertaining in mind, from the pergola and generous deck to the fire pit area and edibles bed. New trees add height and cover for birds, the planting is designed with pollinators in mind, and the poorly-drained lawn has been replaced by stone paving and stabilised gravel: rainfall drains to planting beds and permeable areas. The old brick garden wall by the lounge area is the only surviving element of the original Victorian property on this site, which was destroyed in the Blitz, and a (much later) iron cylinder found built into a wall has been repurposed as a handy step for the children’s visits with their neighbours. Scroll to the last image for ‘before’. Gardens are of course never finished, and this one has space for tomatoes, salads and summer herbs to come. Huge thanks to our hospitable clients for trusting us with their garden, to Lucan and his team for the build, to @eddlestonmcgrath and @tracycole6724 for your valiant planting work as the rainclouds gathered, and to @provendernurseries for the perfect delivery of beautiful plants. #gardenandlandscapedesign #landscapedesigner #landscapedesign #gardendesigner #landscapingideas #gardendesign
#gardendesigninspo #gardening #gardenstyle #gardentour #luxurygardens #familyhome #familygardens #gardeninspiration #houseandgardens #plantingdesign #plants #outdoorplants #plantinspo #urbangarden

Late March, and the paths through the lawn have be

Late March, and the paths through the lawn have been cut. The bulbs have been quite successful this year - waves of crocuses followed by daffodils and tulips - and are now all but over. Meanwhile the wildflower turf is waking up. Each year the entire area is cut very short at the end of the growing season and the arisings composted: the aim is to reduce soil fertility and keep a good balance of perennial wildflowers to grass. #wildflowerlawn #wildflowerturf

The most beautiful Chanel camellia in a client’s

The most beautiful Chanel camellia in a client’s garden today. We’ll be keeping the dense ‘hedges’ on either side of this narrow triangular garden: composed of holly, bay, viburnum and camellia, they arch beautifully over what will become a seating area halfway down the garden. #camelliasinensis #woodlandgarden

Pergola arches in at our Streatham Hill project wi

Pergola arches in at our Streatham Hill project with @james_hughes_gardens, adding height and definition. There’s a clay paver path to come under these, leading from the limestone terrace to the garden room, and climbers to clothe the arches. Wonderful to see the garden taking shape!

Planting day today at our Crystal Palace project w

Planting day today at our Crystal Palace project with the excellent @tracycole6724 and @eddlestonmcgrath and our lovely clients Rich and @emmapoundtv @james_hughes_gardens many thanks for building the garden, and for your help with the fence today!

Good progress on our Streatham site with @james_hu

Good progress on our Streatham site with @james_hughes_gardens : the fences are up, the brick wall is nearly finished and eight tonnes of hardcore have been formed into a base for the outdoor lounge. Meanwhile the gorgeous kitchen extension is being built by Skyconic to @yardarchitects design, including a fabulous curved brick wall… gardendesignlondon #gardenbuild #collaborativespaces

Wallflowers living up to their name on my survey t

Wallflowers living up to their name on my survey today. Really enjoying this beautiful day after weeks of grey and rain!

New front-and-back garden build starting today wit

New front-and-back garden build starting today with @integralbuilders in Norbury. We have plans for these lovely rocks found on site…

The first of the tulips joins the other bulbs in t

The first of the tulips joins the other bulbs in the wildflower lawn. #springbulbs #stinzenplanten #bulblawn

‘Here’s to strong women: May we know them, may

‘Here’s to strong women: May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.’ This is me age 6 with my mother, Emese Molnar Bagley, an amazing woman who was both truly international and fully committed to the rights of both women and men, from her first job as a social worker with unmarried mothers in New York, via teaching in Kenya and Papua New Guinea to a career in voluntary organisations including VSO, Peace Corps and GTZ. Along the way she raised two children and created gardens on three continents. Happy International Women’s Day!
#internationalwomensday #iwd #iwd2024 #womeninaid #papuanewguinea

Work started on the build for this Streatham garde

Work started on the build for this Streatham garden with @james_hughes_gardens today - and, just over this fence, work also started on a design for the garden next door. Feeling very fortunate to be involved with both of these amazing projects! #streathamgardendesign #streathamgardens #telfordpark #ejtarver

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