hello@gravelgardendesign.com
https://www.gravelgardendesign.com
Gravel Garden Design
07962 172650
Graduation year: 2025/26 PDD
Richard Hutchinson
Gravel Garden Design
DROUGHT AND FLOOD RESILIENT GARDENS
Weather patterns have changed dramatically in the last decade or so. Living near Chichester in West Sussex we feel these changes acutely with dry Springs, searingly hot drought Summers and very wet Autumn and Winters. My garden, like many, was planned loosely around a central lawn with surrounding planting. In recent years that lawn has either been a brown spiky desert or a sodden mud patch which even the dogs didn’t venture onto, so we made a decision in 2025 to transform it into a gravel garden, using sand and gravel as a planting medium. After planting in early 2026 the garden has endured the hottest and driest summer ever in this area, but still has thrived with minimal irrigation, even while the plants are getting established. It is thrilling to see the huge increase in number of insects and birds that visit the garden. As weeding and watering is now minimal there is more time to enjoy seeing them!
I believe that this approach should be used more often. as it fits well with the desire of clients for colourful and textural gardens without the need for extensive aftercare and irrigation.
Biography:
I have worked as an architect for 40 years, in Scotland, Paris, Singapore and London, mainly on large residential projects. However, I have always been especially interested in the relationship between a building’s interior and the outdoor context – too often ignored by many architects. Following retirement from architecture in 2025 I studied and qualified from LCGD with distinction in Planting Design in June 2026.
Instagram: @gravelgardendesign
A sad lawn was replaced by three island beds using sand. Planted in early April 2026 the planting has thrived despite minimal irrigation and a searing drought.
On the edge of a gravelled parking area, early primulas, daffodils, tulips and camassias have given way to foxgloves, euphorbia, forget-me-nots and emerging grasses. This border self seeds, regenerating and changing every season.
A project for a tiny shady courtyard garden with an Eastern influence as the client used to live in Japan. The garden is designed to create interesting views from the two overlooking rooms through the seasons.
The client wanted a garden to remind them of past holidays in the South of France. The design is inspired by the ‘Garrigue”, the semi-wild beautiful landscape of the Mediterranean coast. The planting is in a gravel aggregate mixed bed, and will need much less maintenance than a traditional herbaceous border. The aim is for the sound and scent of the garden to evoke the Mediterranean as well as the appearance.
A proposed new garden for MPs next to a temporary Parliament building while the Palace of Westminster is restored. A place for MPs to decompress, relax and have meetings and discussions in a beautiful setting. It could radically change the confrontational and discordant way that politics has become in recent years.
