Ali Ryder Garden Designs

Ali Ryder Garden Designs I am a garden designer and gardener working in East Cornwall, Plymouth and surrounding areas. She speculatively took an online course and loved it.

Get in touch if you'd like gardening help, would like a complete redesign or anything in between. Having read Engineering at Clare College, Cambridge and worked as a Geotechnical Engineer designing building and bridge foundation for 8 years, a growing family caused Ali to reflect on her work and realise the enjoyment and satisfaction of designing her own garden. Friends and family started asking f

or help and what was initially just for fun became more serious and has grown into its own business. She has completed her Royal Horticultural Society Level 2 Certificate in Garden Design, Establishment and Maintenance, achieving a commendation in two of the four modules.

Pots and maintenance.I have quite a few clients who love their pots but also want a low maintenance garden. I try and ex...
12/03/2026

Pots and maintenance.

I have quite a few clients who love their pots but also want a low maintenance garden. I try and explain to them how to plant in a pot is like a baby - you have to give it everything that it needs: all the water, the nutrients, the light levels, keep the pests away and of course repotting when needed - it’s never low maintenance! Whereas a plant in the ground can grow up to be mature and look after itself.

This camellia is a prime example. Gifted to me by a friend who didn’t know what to do with it, I planted it out in Nov 2024 into our acidic soil. I cut into the heavily pot-bound root ball, pruned it and let it be. Now 16 months later, almost all the leaves are green, it’s flowing beautifully and is a much happier plant!

Don’t confine your plants to pots, let them grow up!

(Photos of yellow-leaved camellia from Nov 2024, green-leaved camellia from March 2026)

As a gardener and garden designer I often pass some slightly odd looking gardens and wonder about the decision making pr...
23/02/2026

As a gardener and garden designer I often pass some slightly odd looking gardens and wonder about the decision making process. Friday was no exception and I had to pull over whilst driving and get out to take a closer look. I think the logic is that they will ultimately get rid of the conifer hedge but they want privacy while they wait for the cherry laurel to grow larger. They’ve done this really neatly and maybe it’ll work - I’ll be interested to see as time goes on! (A LinkedIn connection tells me that they’ve used this technique successfully in the past.)

What’s the weirdest garden decision that you’ve seen that had you puzzling?

Posting on FB seems to have dropped of the 'to do' list for the second half of last year! Here's a January post which m...
21/01/2026

Posting on FB seems to have dropped of the 'to do' list for the second half of last year! Here's a January post which might make some of you say 'ick' but might interest others! (your opinion requested at the end!)

The Australian Flatworm. Not my favorite of beasties in the garden due to its consumption of the important earthworm but sadly widespread in the Southwest UK.

Wildlife dilemma: On digging out the last of the previous batch of wood chip and bagging it up ready for use (and for the bay to be reused) you find over 30 of these wee beasties. You pick them out and deposit them in a mug of salty water. Do you now:
A. Use the wood chip as usual, you’ve reduced the population. You might have missed a few but that’s okay.
B. Throw all the wood chip away (take it to the council green waste tip where it will be composted at high temperatures). It’s not worth risking more flatworms in the garden.
C. Slowly work your way though 6 full bags of mulch - cooking it at 90 degrees C to kill any remaining flat worms and eggs and then use on the garden.
D. Any other suggestion!

I’d love to know your thoughts!

(This is sounding quite like one of those ‘pick your own adventure’ stories I used to love as a child!)

If you’d like more flatworm info: https://lnkd.in/eiV3-HG3

“I didn’t even know I had a rose there!” - my client’s comment on Monday. 🥀 Not surprising when you look at the state of...
04/06/2025

“I didn’t even know I had a rose there!” - my client’s comment on Monday. 🥀 Not surprising when you look at the state of her garden when the rose was in flower last year! For an elderly lady who can’t get out and about very much, it’s an especial joy when I come to the door and she’s excited to show me something new in garden. Thank you for being a joy to work for!

I love the foxglove flop - not all plants grow to Chelsea standards!

Remember these World War Two helmets I posted about back in November? I hung them on the wall of the wood shed and now t...
27/04/2025

Remember these World War Two helmets I posted about back in November? I hung them on the wall of the wood shed and now they have a new lease of life in the form of a bird’s nest! I’m going to see if I can work out who is using them (whilst keeping my distance obviously!)

Never stop learning. Whether it's at a new client's house or a new area of the country / world, you will always see pla...
21/01/2025

Never stop learning. Whether it's at a new client's house or a new area of the country / world, you will always see plants that you haven't come across before. Don't be afraid to ask; a client or a local who loves their plants will be delighted to share and in turn, it will boost your knowledge and enjoyment of the space.

A few weeks ago I learnt that not all conifers are evergreen. The larch (European, Japanese and American) is a group of conifers that loose their needles in the autumn like any other deciduous tree. The Latin for the European larch is a bit of a giveaway: Larix decidua! Bare and brown in the winter, their autumnal showing is apparently an incredible sight!

Home composting - it is a great, sustainable way to: 1. reduce waste as garden materials and uncooked vegetative food wa...
16/01/2025

Home composting - it is a great, sustainable way to:
1. reduce waste as garden materials and uncooked vegetative food waste can all be included;
2. produce free soil improver. This increases organic matter into the soil which in turn boosts moisture retention in sandy soils, increases aeration in clayey soils and slows evaporation from the soil in warm weather.

Compost heaps benefit from turning to increase oxygen availability for the bacteria to do their work breaking down the waste. So today there is a third benefit - the workout you get turning one heap into the next bay. No need to go to the gym!

We’ve built pallet compost heaps for several clients but this isn’t the only method - ‘beehive’ plastic composters or ‘tumbler’ composters are both more compact if you have less space.

Get out there and turn your compost - the bacteria will thank you and so might your feathered friends!

Happy Christmas! Wishing all our clients and friends a very Happy Christmas. Here’s to a fruitful new year of gardenin...
24/12/2024

Happy Christmas! Wishing all our clients and friends a very Happy Christmas. Here’s to a fruitful new year of gardening.
ps. As well as getting rest and refreshment over the Christmas season, winter is also a great time to
1. Mulch your flower beds to keep those pesky weeds at bay in the spring.
2. Plant any bare root plants (roses, trees, hedging)
3. Do a spot of repair work.

Storm Damage! In November, we agreed with our client to prune the 5-10 year old foliage off their pergola to renovate th...
18/12/2024

Storm Damage! In November, we agreed with our client to prune the 5-10 year old foliage off their pergola to renovate the plants and help a little more light come though the pergola. As part of the process, we discovered extensive rot of the verticals and cross bars. The wind of Storm Darragh brought forward the repairs and so we returned on Friday to tie in all the plants and look forward to new growth.

Autumn colour: Just in case you're feeling a little grey in this weather, here's a reminder of some fabulous autumn colo...
16/12/2024

Autumn colour: Just in case you're feeling a little grey in this weather, here's a reminder of some fabulous autumn colour from one of our client's gardens from early November to bring colour back to your day. :-)

Crown Shyness: Have you ever thought that trees might be shy? Often when you look up into a canopy, you'll see sky betwe...
13/12/2024

Crown Shyness: Have you ever thought that trees might be shy? Often when you look up into a canopy, you'll see sky between the tips of the trees almost as if they're afraid of touching each other. Last week I noticed that it is the same for this majestic oak between sections of branches. You can see the trace of channels in the canopy. Have a read more about research into this phenomenon and what scientists this causes it at the link below and don't forget to look up if you're going for a walk in the woods. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/crown-shyness-are-trees-social-distancing.html #:~:text=In%20some%20forests%2C%20if%20you,is%20known%20as%20crown%20shyness.

Honeysuckle - fabulous plant but sometimes decides it wants to take over the whole garden and swamp all the other plants...
11/12/2024

Honeysuckle - fabulous plant but sometimes decides it wants to take over the whole garden and swamp all the other plants. It was time for this one to have drastic haircut. Later in the winter we'll also start to renovate the Cornus and divide the grasses to rejuvinate them.

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