A shady Victorian plot in Brixton, opened up with pale rendered walls, corten steps and planting that thrives out of the sun.
Garden design · planting · build coordination
Lovely gardens for South Londoners.
Thoughtful gardens for contemporary London homes, combining clear layouts, considered materials and generous planting.
Patchworks is a small London garden design studio, working from first ideas through to planting and build coordination.
01 · Selected work
A few gardens, each responding to its setting, its architecture and the people who use it.
A quiet outdoor room in a tight city plot, built from handmade brick, warm timber and layered shade planting.
Dark clay paving, gravel planting, a corten pond and a sedum-roofed studio create a richly planted garden around a modern London home.
A comfortable everyday garden, with an existing tree canopy, a generous terrace and planting that softens the boundaries.
The existing layout was retained and made more generous with handmade paving, gravel, oak and pockets of resilient planting.
A compact garden for a renovated 70s modern house — herringbone paving, a hidden green shed and lush, foliage-led planting.
02 · Point of view
We tend towards clear layouts and a loose edge: natural materials, generous planting and gardens that are allowed to settle in.
03 · A garden settling in
Gardens keep changing after the build is finished.
Plants are cut back, moved, divided and allowed to find their shape over time.
Seasonal care is part of the life of a planted garden. This Forest Hill garden has grown into the warm rendered walls, with grasses, Verbena and late-summer colour becoming looser each year.
Dulwich Village · midsummer
A garden moving through summer.
04 · The process
From first visit to planting.
01
Garden design
A measured survey, a clear brief and a developed plan, followed by the detail needed to understand costs and build the garden well.
02
Planting design
Planting considered in relation to light, soil, seasonality and maintenance, with enough structure to hold the garden together as it grows.
03
Build coordination
Where useful, Patchworks can remain involved during the build, working with trusted landscape contractors on pricing, specification and decisions on site.
The studio
Patchworks is led by Joe Twigg.
Patchworks is a South London garden design studio specialising in thoughtful, practical gardens for city life.
I grew up building gardens, spending weekends and school holidays helping my father construct them across Wiltshire, long before I studied garden design, horticulture and art. Later, I project managed the construction of gardens for Chelsea Flower Show designers, learning how thoughtful design becomes a well-built garden. Alongside this, my work as a documentary photographer, exploring architecture and the way people inhabit spaces, continues to influence how I think about gardens.
I design gardens and planting, then coordinate their construction with a trusted network of independent landscapers, so you have one person who understands your garden from the first sketch to the final planting.
Most of my work is within a few miles of home in Herne Hill, designing gardens that feel rooted in their neighbourhood and become more beautiful with time.
A little more about Patchworks
Joe Twigg
05 · Journal
Notes on gardens, materials and working in London.
Costs & process
How much does garden design cost in London?
A straightforward guide to design fees, build budgets and the things that affect the final cost.
Consultations
A fresh pair of eyes on your garden plans
One-to-one garden consultations for anyone shaping a garden with a bit of guidance — layout, materials, planting and next steps.
Local knowledge
The ins and outs of the Dulwich Estate
A garden designer’s guide to planning, permissions and working with the Estate, from front gardens to garden studios.
Do get in touch.
You’re welcome to send over a few details about the space, where you are and what you are considering.