Hello!
I’m Shaun Mooney, a garden designer living in Woolwich, South East London.
I retrained as a garden designer after the pandemic with a desire to create ecological, sustainable gardens for clients, creating spaces of all sizes where people can relax and reconnect with nature. I like to combine clean lines and strong geometry in hard landscaping with dynamic, architectural planting to create atmosphere and emotion. Whether you’re looking to redesign your garden or balcony, I’d love to help.
Ethos
Context-sensitive - While I certainly have a palette of plants and materials that I like to work with, every project I work on is different because every garden I work in is different. I always take time to get to know a client and their garden to respond to the site and the brief to create a unique garden.
Ecological - “Gardens are for people”, yes. But I genuinely think what brings people out of their homes and into the garden is a reason to step outside. You have dining furniture in your house, but what makes you want to sit outside is enjoying the companionship of a garden that is thrumming with life. All gardens are wildlife gardens in one way or another.
Sustainable - Gardens needn’t cost the Earth. Literally. I use local suppliers and nurseries, re-use material on-site and aim to preserve the soil. I reduce the number of external inputs a garden needs to thrive, responding to Mother Nature to grow what wants to grow there, instead of creating artificial conditions to coerce plants to grow outside of their desired conditions.
Permeable - Gardens should capture as much rain water as they can rather than allowing it to drain away. The best place for rain water is the ground. Impermeable landscaping - like concrete or tarmac - causes rain water to run off into sewers, contributing to flash flooding. By not paving more than we need, we allow water to naturally filter through permeable and porous surfaces, such as planting, decking or gravel. If a client wishes, rain water can be captured and stored to reduce the amount of drinking water used to water a garden. Using the right plants in the right place can help cut our water use - and our water bills - to aid with this.
Naturalistic - I think the best gardens emulate natural environments - meadows, woods, coasts and mountains - while creating space for people. Planting feels more relaxed or dynamic, and in turn, so do we. This also helps us think about the kinds of plants that might do well in a garden’s unique conditions, meaning they perform better and require less maintenance. Win win!
Biography
After 10 years working in marketing and communications, I realised that garden design was what I really wanted to be doing, although I’ve been gardening since I was old enough to hold a spade.
I hold a Level 2 Certificate in Garden Design and Level 3 Certificate in The Principles and Practice of Garden Design from London’s renowned Capel Manor College. I am currently studying for my Level 3 in Plants and Planting, and am due to complete my diploma this autumn.
I live in Woolwich with my partner, the architect Daniel Ovalle Costal. When I am not working, I am often found pottering in my own garden, convincing myself that there is a gap for just one more coveted plant.