St. James’s Gardens is a square in Holland Park, west London which was laid out in the late 1840s. The square garden is a rectangular, with the church of St. James Norlands in its centre, dividing the east and west lawns. The garden is surrounded by deep borders with chestnut and lime trees (two of the oldest horse chestnuts have sadly been lost in recent years). It forms a uniquely calm oasis in central London.

The communal gardens are used by the square’s residents and dogs are permitted. Local fêtes and cultural events as well as children’s parties are held there in the summer months. The gardens are also used by local schools and nurseries for playtime, games and the annual school photograph. The exceptionally pretty stucco houses with arched windows in a variety of pastel colours create a lovely background.

Just over a decade ago, the garden committee decided to make extensive improvements.  Katharina Labovitch, a resident of the square, designed a new planting scheme for the borders with a multi-year cycle and on a limited budget. The scheme took the full range of activities, which take place in the garden into account. The planting had to be robust in order to withstand dogs and the exploration of the borders by intrepid children as well as providing an interesting collection of shrubs for plantaholics and colour across all seasons to lift the spirits on a grey day.

The planting plans for the borders were defined by a collection of decidious and evergreen shrubs with lots of roses for colour and interest. An unusual winter highlight is Rosa chinensis ‘Bengal Crimson’, which flowers into early summer when other roses take over.

With longer and hotter summers, more drought-resistant shrubs have been added, for example Ceanothus or Euphorbia mellifera, which have spectacular colour and scent.

The path around the perimeter was reshaped in a snaking route to give a more interesting perspective, a prettier and more environmentally friendly self-binding gravel replacing the grey tarmac. To reduce winter flooding in parts of the gardens, a water tank connected to French drains was installed.

The lost trees were replaced with a wider variety of species to reduce the risk of disease and to create a more interesting arboreal collection.

There are still areas of the garden, which need replanting but the focus for the next few years will be on maintaining the garden and letting it mature gracefully.