Tania Urban Design

Tania Urban Design Gardens - Landscapes - Plants
Garden designer & plant lover based in London with a passion for design, art & gardens.

Like so many in the garden world, I was deeply saddened to hear of Nigel Dunnett’s passing yesterday.A few years ago I i...
27/04/2026

Like so many in the garden world, I was deeply saddened to hear of Nigel Dunnett’s passing yesterday.
A few years ago I immersed myself in further plant learning through , where Nigel was one of the key voices shaping how we think about naturalistic planting. I remember him mentioning he was working on a big project at the time… but couldn’t say much more - which made it all the more exciting.
A year later I visited it.
These images are from the Tower of London Superbloom - and yes, it was a bold idea, and also an exciting one.
His approach to biodiversity and urban landscapes has stayed with me since, quietly influencing how I see and design gardens

RIP Nigel and may your legacy and ideas continue to inspire and influence a whole new generation.
dunnett

A city back garden for a growing family.This garden is seen from inside as much as outside, through a wall full of windo...
24/04/2026

A city back garden for a growing family.
This garden is seen from inside as much as outside, through a wall full of windows that frames the garden like a shifting seasonal canvas.

Layered on a slope, designed for living - from alfresco evenings to gentle paths that draw you through loose, cottage-inspired planting, a softer mood the owner loves, reimagined for the city.

The garden was planned with a future garden studio in mind.
Now, a couple of years on, it’s settled - the structure holds, the planting has started to fill out, and the space feels at ease with the house.

(Images taken one year after planting)

Wisteria season… suddenly everywhere on my dog walks 💜🌿
Did you know there are actually a few different types of Wisteri...
19/04/2026

Wisteria season… suddenly everywhere on my dog walks 💜🌿

Did you know there are actually a few different types of Wisterias - and that’s the reason why their flowering timing feels a bit staggered.

The one we are seeing right now is Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria)
→ flowers early and before the leaves really come through

Then comes Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria)
→ flowers a bit later, softer, longer trails

And if you’ve ever seen it blooming into summer… that’s usually Wisteria frutescens (American wisteria)
→ later and sometimes repeats a little

Also explains why some are already full purple (Slide1-3) and the one next door hasn’t even started yet & a bit of sun and shelter makes all the difference.

And … ✂️ Pruning plays a big part too..(slide 4)
Wisteria flowering depends heavily on pruning: Winter pruning → encourages flower buds
Summer pruning → controls growth and can encourage a light second bloom

A place where planting becomes composition.I visited last week. What stood out to me most wasn’t just the tulips, but h...
16/04/2026

A place where planting becomes composition.
I visited last week.
What stood out to me most wasn’t just the tulips, but how they are used.
The borders are carefully layered - not only in colour, but in height and timing. Softer tones sit together, stronger contrasts are placed with intention, and the planting moves almost like a gradient through the space.
You start to see combinations rather than individual plants.
It’s a reminder that bulbs can do more than just “add colour” - they can structure a planting scheme just as much as any shrub or perennial.
I noted down a few favourites below from the slides, and I’ll definitely come back to these combinations when designing spring planting.

And busy, yes it was busy - but still one of those must visit places that stays with you.

1 - not AI; it really was an amazing mount of tulips at the Keukenhof entry 💚

2 - Rainbow tulips:Tulipa ‘Yellow Pride’, Tulipa ‘Orange Pride’, Tulipa ‘Red Pride’, Tulipa ‘Pink Pride’, Tulipa ‘Purple Pride’

4 - Anemone ‘Mount Everest’, Muscan armeniacum, Hyacinthus Fondant
Hyacinthus lan Bos’ Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’ Tulipa Flaming Flan’ Tulipa Little Beauty, Tullpa ‘Alexander Pushin, Tulipa Barbados’ Tulipa Blue Wow, Tullpa ‘Candy Club’, Tulipa Cranberry Thistle’ Tulipa Light and Dreamy, Tulipa Rimini’, Tulipa Synaeda Amor, Fritillaria persica

5 - Narcissus ‘Tet a Tete de Luxe’, Fritillaria ‘Paradise Beauty’, Fritillaria ‘Orange Beauty’

6 - Puschkinia ‘Scilloides var libanotica’, Scilla siberica, Anemone ‘Mr. Fokker’, Anemone ‘Blue Shades’, Hyacinthus ‘White Pearl’, Hyacinthus ‘Blue Jacket’, Hyacinthus Top, Tulipa ‘Kikomachi”, Tulipa ‘Strong Gold’, Tulipa ‘Jan van Nes’, Tulipa ‘Golden Apeldoorn’, Tulipa ‘City of Vancouver, Tulipa White Marvel’, Tulipa ‘Purissima’, Tulipa ‘Candela’, Fritillaria ‘Luten’

8 - My daughter & me

A crate of tulips on a windowsill.Simple - seasonal & enough on its own.
Low effort - high impact
13/04/2026

A crate of tulips on a windowsill.
Simple - seasonal & enough on its own.
Low effort - high impact





A front garden designed to be seen from both sides.A double-fronted house with large windows meant the planting needed t...
07/04/2026

A front garden designed to be seen from both sides.
A double-fronted house with large windows meant the planting needed to work just as much from inside looking out as from the street.
This is a garden I worked on a couple of years ago - and it’s now come into its own.
The structure has settled, the planting has filled out, and the whole space feels at ease with the house.
A restrained palette, kept close to the tones of the front door lets the planting do the work - framing rather than competing with the architecture.

Video taken on planting day.





Happy Easter! 🌸Spring flowers on the table, a few hand-coloured eggs, a happy dog and cherry blossom.
05/04/2026

Happy Easter! 🌸
Spring flowers on the table, a few hand-coloured eggs, a happy dog and cherry blossom.

I do like bringing a bit of the garden indoors in spring, and one week before Easter feels like the perfect moment for a...
29/03/2026

I do like bringing a bit of the garden indoors in spring, and one week before Easter feels like the perfect moment for a spring wreath.

Most of this wreath is made from garden cuttings - flowering branches, evergreen foliage and a few spring bulbs. If you don’t have many flowers in the garden yet, seasonal flowers from supermarkets work very well too, especially tulips and narcissus.

This one was made together with my friend, which made it even more enjoyable and felt like a proper start to the Easter holidays.

Yes, you see correctly - it’s a wagging tail moving through the border. When the sun comes out, I am drawn into the gard...
27/03/2026

Yes, you see correctly - it’s a wagging tail moving through the border.
When the sun comes out, I am drawn into the garden, and the dog of course comes too.
But apart of the sun I absolutely love Euphorbias in spring. They do well in sunny borders, especially in London gardens. Being evergreen, they give structure through the year, and their architectural shape and texture really form the backbone of a border.
My other go-to evergreen plants for texture in sunny borders are:

• Pinus mugo ‘Mini Mops’
• Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Ball’
• Euphorbia myrsinites
• Pittosporum tobira’Nanum’
• Euphorbia characiassubsp. wulfenii
 
These are probably my five favourite evergreen plants for sunny gardens that I use again & again because they all have completely different leaf shapes and textures, but they sit very well together and keep a border interesting over the year.
If the structure works in winter, the garden will always work.
 

The Garden at Gorhambury House This week I took part in the Head gardeners tour of Gorhambury House, set in the historic...
13/06/2025

The Garden at Gorhambury House

This week I took part in the Head gardeners tour of Gorhambury House, set in the historic parkland just outside St Albans, Hertfordshire - a truly inspiring space blending heritage with thoughtful, contemporary planting.

The garden was beautifully maintained by the Head Gardener Gill Hewis and her team which features elegant planting designed by .
His signature style is evident throughout - especially in the ornamental borders that sit so naturally within the grand setting of this Palladian mansion.
The kitchen and vegetable garden was a particular highlight. Neatly laid out, orderly rows of produce, and herb beds spilling with scent - it’s both productive and beautiful. A real working garden that’s also a joy to walk through.

Beyond that, different pockets of the garden unfold with changing character - open lawns framed by mature trees, a walled garden, and generous herbaceous borders full of colour and texture. A garden that has layers of history and ongoing care.
It is a hidden gem with a rich sense of place.



Address

Gorhambury Walk
Saint Albans

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