Sustainable development is vital in both public and private spaces. Holistic garden design ensures that nothing is left out. The natural environment is enhanced by sensitive landscape design.

Souter-Brown Design ensures that gardens are designed to suit the built environment and the occupant's way of life. Structured informality is the hallmark of Gayle Souter-Brown's style. Her interior designs flow to complementary garden design.

Country garden designs flow from garden rooms to living rooms, creating a sense of harmony. Town gardens are designed as a continuum from indoors to out, maximising use of limited gardening space.

Sustainable gardening design requires us to adapt our ways of thinking, perhaps change our way of living. Locally sourced renewable materials look good and perform well, because they naturally suit the area.

We need to design for climate change so we can enjoy the weather, not curse it. Rainwater harvester systems, in conjunction with water saving techniques such as mulching, provide flexibility in planting plans for the garden.

Awnings, sun sails, arbours and pergolas will be increasingly useful and look good, allowing us to enjoy being outside for longer periods of the year. Solar water heating, solar garden lighting, even solar powered pumps can provide alternative energy in your home.

Sustainable interior design maximises natural daylight, air flow and stores heat from the sun. Natural materials are used for their low toxicity, low carbon footprint and ability to support local economies.

By planning your home's interior design while thinking about the outside of your home, a holistic design can be produced, where everything works together to create a harmonious whole.

Designing gardens for wildlife is something we all can do, whether we live in a small city flat or a grand country estate. Balcony planting needs careful consideration but small trees can be trained to a variety of space-saving shapes. Roof gardens allow as many exciting options as you have space and ideas. Attracting wildlife into the inner city is especially rewarding and can provide valuable 'wildlife corridors'.

In larger gardens, bird cherry, crab apple and hawthorn are excellent for birds and beneficial insects. Mature ivy is the only native to provide berries during the cold winter months. Take cuttings from a friend's mature plant rather than planting a young one.

Broom and honeysuckle are two native shrubs that will attract wildlife into your garden. Buddleia is the best to attract butterflies but grows quickly and needs careful pruning to maintain a manageable size and shape. For hedgehogs, leave a pile of leaves under a hedge for an ideal winter hibernation spot. Deer can be a nuisance if they eat your prize blooms. Deer fencing around precious planting is relatively inexpensive and can be planted up to be almost invisible.

Combating the credit crunch and soaring oil prices is easy when you devote space to growing your own fruit and vegetables. Don't let a lack of space put you off. Some tasty plants such as tomatoes, strawberries, herbs and salad greens will even grow in a hanging basket. A good-looking jute grow bag by your front door could provide you with potatoes, squash, courgettes, peppers and beans. The possibilities are almost endless.

Fruit trees have been bred for container growing, so now you can grow your own apples on your balcony or roof garden. Remember to check whether your variety is self fertile or whether you need another tree nearby for the bees to pollinate your tree. Check with your garden designer or local nursery if unsure.

If you have the space turn over unused areas of lawn to parterre or potager style vegetable gardens. Gone are the days of the vege garden looking a bit utilitarian. With the right layout it can look as ornamental as any part of the garden.

Front gardens are often unused space. They can be used to grow food crops too. Use the vertical space and train plants to grow upright or along a fence. Beans, peas, squash, apples, pears all love a sunny wall or fence.

If you need off road parking for your car, ensure the driveway is permeable. That is, water can drain through the surface. With climate change we can expect more sudden downpours. Rather than overloading the stormwater system, it is better to allow the water to drain naturally into the soil. This reduces flooding and filters out pollutants.

For more information on these sustainable gardening design practices and more, click here.

For sustainable interior design ideas, designed to complement your garden, click here.

If you need to sell your house quickly, home staging is a service where we present your house and garden at its best. Effectively we assess and recommend steps to a 'make-over' of your home and garden. We are able to offer this service via email if you would just like some suggestions and can organise to do the work yourself. The small cost of home staging is more than met by the value you gain from a quick sale at a good price. Sell your home faster. Contact us for details of our home staging service.