Creative Management

Root to Resilience: Post-Planting Guidance

Support you through all stages of the garden from establishment to continued management

A newly planted garden needs more than water and weeding—it needs informed guidance to ensure the design takes root and thrives. This service supports your planting after installation, helping it grow into a richly layered, increasingly self-sustaining garden that reaches its full potential.

After years of maintaining gardens for my clients, I have become more and more experienced developing strategies to reduce labour and create an environment that requires less maintenance which I am now using to help look after your garden.

caring for your garden

  • Long-term Success - Creating a garden doesn’t stop with the implementation of the design. I believe design, establishment and aftercare go hand in hand. Together we ensure the planting establishes well and I offer ongoing support. 

  • A Garden evolving with Time - Gardens are not static places, frozen in time - they are evolving, shifting, dynamic spaces. I believe garden design is only the starting point. By thoughtfully and creatively maintaining a garden, we ensure it stays functional and visually appealing whilst reducing unnecessary input and allowing for dynamic processes to take place. 

Post-Planting Guidance

    • 4–5 visits per year during the first two phases of establishment (adjustable to suit your garden’s needs)

    • At each visit:

      • Assess how the planting is progressing

      • Troubleshoot problems (e.g. plant losses, pests, gaps)

      • Advise on what actions are needed

      • Help you or your gardener implement timely care

    Each visit also includes:

    • A written summary outlining observations, advice, and suggested next steps

    • Coordination with your maintenance team or gardener if needed

    Note: This is not a garden maintenance service. My role is to guide and support the establishment process—helping you manage planting intelligently, put care systems in place, and make design adjustments where needed.

    • Ensure your garden establishes successfully in its early life

    • Transition the planting into a cohesive, balanced system

    • Support a long-term vision of low-input care with high impact

    • Detect and address issues early, before they become costly or disruptive

    Even if your garden wasn’t designed for long-term self-sufficiency, we can assess it together and work toward that goal through careful changes.

  • After design and planting, your garden goes through three phases of professional support:

    Phase 1 (~1 Year)

    Focus: Individual plant survival and adaptation

    • 4–5 annual visits

    • Management focuses on:

      • Monitoring need for weeding, watering, cutting back

      • Pest and disease monitoring

      • Supporting young plants through losses and stress

    • Goal: Help each plant get established and start filling its intended role

    Phase 2

    Focus: Planting system as a whole

    • Continued regular visits

    • Attention shifts to:

      • Replacing or removing underperforming species

      • Strengthening groundcover and layering

      • Enhancing seasonal expression where needed

    • Goal: Achieve a dense, diverse, and resilient planting structure with year-round presence

    Phase 3 - Long-term

    Focus: Sustaining a dynamic but stable planting

    • Less frequent visits as the garden matures

    • Ongoing guidance to:

      • Monitor balance and layering

      • Prevent invasive species from taking over

      • Adjust rhythm and openness as needed

    • Goal: A stable, evolving garden that requires thoughtful intervention—not constant care

  • This service is ideal for gardens designed with ecological function, visual richness, and long-term resilience in mind.

    If your garden wasn’t designed this way, we’ll work together to assess its condition, rethink key areas, and steer it toward a more sustainable future—without starting over.