Planting design · Cumbria
Planting designer in Cumbria and the Lake District
Planting design and garden consultations from the Eden Valley
Horticulturist and BBC Gardeners' World presenter Jamie Butterworth lives and gardens in the Eden Valley, just outside the Lake District National Park. He offers planting design, garden visits and planting plans for gardens across Cumbria, the Lake District and the north of England, from a single border to a whole estate.
- Based in
- The Eden Valley, Cumbria
- Garden visit
- Up to 2 hours, from £1,250
- Planting plan
- Drawn by Jamie, from £3,500
- Online consultation
- One hour, £450 inc. VAT
Planting for northern gardens
Plants that love the Cumbrian climate
Gardens in Cumbria and the Lake District have their own character: cool summers, generous rainfall, heavy or stony soils and wonderful borrowed views of fells and woodland. Planted well, they give some of the lushest, most atmospheric gardens in the country.
Jamie chooses plants that thrive in these conditions, from astrantias, geraniums, sanguisorbas and persicarias to ferns, native birch and moisture-loving perennials, and puts them together in combinations that look good from spring bulbs right through to winter seedheads.
His own first garden in the Eden Valley is being made right now, and you can follow it in the Journal and on YouTube.
Ways to work together
Planting advice for every garden
Garden visit
Up to two hours in your garden looking at soil, light, views and the plants already doing well, followed by a written report and plant list. From £1,250 in Cumbria.
Planting plan
A scaled planting plan and full plant schedule for a border or a whole garden, drawn by Jamie, with one round of revisions. From £3,500.
Online consultation
An hour with Jamie on video, with a written summary afterwards. A good place to start, wherever your garden is. £450 inc. VAT.
Where Jamie works
Across Cumbria and the north
- The Eden Valley, Penrith and Appleby-in-Westmorland
- Ullswater, Keswick and the northern Lake District
- Kendal, Windermere, Grasmere and the South Lakes
- Carlisle, Cockermouth and West Cumbria
- The Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders
Further afield? Jamie also works across the UK and abroad, and has a second base in Surrey and London.
Planting design, not garden design
The plants are the speciality
Jamie is a planting designer and horticulturist rather than a garden designer. He designs the planting: the right plants for your soil, light and style, in combinations that work and change beautifully through the year. For a full redesign, he is happy to work alongside your garden designer or landscaper on the planting.
Plants for every scheme can be grown and supplied by Form Plants, the peat-free nursery he founded in 2020.
Questions
Planting design in Cumbria
- Do you visit gardens in the Lake District?
- Yes. Jamie lives in the Eden Valley and visits gardens across Cumbria, the Lake District and the north of England. Garden visits of up to two hours start from £1,250.
- Do you design whole gardens?
- Jamie designs the planting rather than the layout or hard landscaping. For a whole new garden, he works alongside a garden designer or landscaper and takes care of the planting.
- Which plants grow well in Cumbria?
- Plenty. Astrantias, hardy geraniums, sanguisorbas, persicarias, ferns, hostas, native trees and many grasses love the cooler, wetter conditions. A garden visit looks at exactly what suits your soil and site.
- How do I book?
- Send an enquiry with a few photos and a note about your garden, or book an online consultation to start straight away.
Book a garden visit
Tell Jamie about your garden in Cumbria or the Lake District and he will be in touch about dates.
Make an enquiryStart with the book
What Grows Together is full of the plant combinations Jamie uses, ready to try at home. Signed first editions, £20 with free UK delivery.
Buy a signed copy