Japanese Garden Planting in South East London
A calm, layered garden that looks good every month of the year. Our Japanese pack leans on shape, texture and leaf colour rather than masses of flowers: a Japanese maple for the seasons, pine and clipped evergreens for structure, and ferns and grasses to soften everything underneath. It suits small London gardens and the shady spots other styles struggle with.
Buy it as a planting pack, let us plant it for you, or have us design and build the whole garden around it.
Gallery photos show examples of the style for inspiration.
Key Plants
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) as the focal point, red or green-leaved. A dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) or cloud-pruned shrub for evergreen form. Polystichum and Dryopteris ferns for shade. Hakonechloa grass spilling over edges. Azaleas or Pieris for spring colour in acid soil.
Design Ideas
One maple underplanted with ferns and moss-like groundcover in a shady courtyard. Rounded, clipped shapes repeated along a path. Low mounds of grass either side of stepping stones. Leave space around each plant: in this style the gaps matter as much as the planting.
Hard Landscaping Features
A stepping-stone path through raked gravel. A low timber deck or platform to sit out on, in the spirit of a Japanese veranda. Natural boulders and a stone water basin. Bamboo or slatted timber screening, and steel edging to keep gravel and planting crisp.
We design and build all of this ourselves: see our landscaping and garden design services.
Setting It Up for Success
Maples, azaleas and pieris like slightly acidic soil, so we plant them in ericaceous compost and mulch with composted bark or leaf mould to keep roots cool and moist. Mycorrhizal root grow goes in with every plant, the maple gets a stake and tie for its first few years, and a membrane sits under the gravel. A seaweed feed in spring keeps the foliage looking its best.
Add a success kit to any pack: we'll bring the right compost, root grow, stakes, mulch and feed, matched to your soil.
Where does it work best?
Almost anywhere sheltered, including part-shade and north-facing gardens. Maples like protection from strong wind and hot afternoon sun, so courtyards, side returns and small back gardens suit them perfectly.
How much looking after does it need?
A light prune of the evergreens once or twice a year to keep their shape, clearing leaves in autumn, and watering in dry spells for the first couple of years. Maples and ferns enjoy a mulch of bark or leaf mould each spring.
How do I order a pack?
WhatsApp a few photos of the space, rough measurements and your postcode to 07490 103088. We'll size the pack to your garden and come back the same day with a price for the plants on their own, plants plus planting, or a full design and build.
"Matthew has done an outstanding job transforming our overgrown and messy borders into tidy, easy to maintain, pretty borders. His workmanship and work ethic cannot be faulted."
Helen G.
"Matt did an amazing job transforming our garden. It had become quite overgrown, with lots of trees and plants all tangled together, but he carefully worked through everything and refreshed the lawn so the whole space feels renewed."
Laura W.
"Matt and Lenny came over to strip out our overgrown and difficult to maintain garden. They removed and trimmed all the unsightly weeds while keeping the flowers, and Matt gave us really helpful maintenance advice."
Aaron L.
