Paul Murphy Gardens

My unique, plant-driven design style revolves around lush garden plantings. I love to incorporate the use of deep plant beds and large garden islands for utmost plant viewing appreciation. In small gardens, I also maximize the space to its full potential. In these plantings, I use new, rare, and unusual cultivars in addition to tried and true specimen plants. Repetition is important to accentuate varieties, textures, and colours in order to create a ‘natural composition’ in the space. Instead of relying solely on the flowering season of plants, I use foliage texture, shape, size, and colour for an overall, four-season garden.

I find inspiration from Gertrude Jekyll’s ‘Wild Gardens’, William Robinson’s design ideals and writings, designs around the gardenesque-style of plant collecting, and natural compositions of exotics, as well as a love of the eclectic. I find the use of art in the garden (sculpture, large pots, climbing structures) to be a highly desirable element, especially in smaller gardens or in garden rooms. My compulsion for collecting the unusual and my love of architectural plants results in spaces that are comfortably lush and stunningly elegant. I have a deep affection for displaying plants’ individualities while creating a design that flows effortlessly.

I have the ability to transform any garden into a work of art with sensational, sustainable solutions. My painstaking attention to detail, as well as the versatility and wealth of experience I bring, with almost 30 years in the horticultural business, allows me to design spaces that are dramatic yet harmonious in composition. My simple solutions for awkward spots and shady nooks, and my skilled design methods for comprehensive compositions of heavily planted beds and larger spaces, guide the installation process with phenomenal results.