Garden design in Weybridge and Virginia Water
Paul Studholme of The Plant Hunter designs plant-led gardens across Weybridge, Virginia Water, St Georges Hill and Burwood Park. Based in East Horsley, he has designed and planted across this stretch of Surrey for years, including a full design and planting project in Burwood Park and a Japanese-influenced garden in Weybridge. The soil in Weybridge is sandy and free-draining, quite unlike the heavy clay of much of Surrey, and it sits under mature pines. That changes what will grow and what is worth planting.
Who this is for: homeowners in Weybridge, Virginia Water and the private estates planning a new garden, a redesign or a planting scheme.
The area
Weybridge and the ground around it is a different proposition from most of Surrey. The gardens are large, often long established, and the tree cover is mature. Many of them are already looked after by a maintenance gardener, which means the question is rarely who cuts the grass. It is whether anyone is making decisions about the planting over the long run. That is the gap Paul fills here, and it is why design and Stewardship pair naturally in this patch.
The soil, and what it means
Weybridge sits on sand. It is free-draining, it warms early and it does not hold water the way the clay of the Horsleys or Cobham does. The mature Scots pines that give the area much of its character are the visible sign of it. They grow there because the ground suits them.
That has two consequences for planting. Acid-loving plants that struggle on Surrey's chalk do well here. And free-draining sand means water and nutrients move through quickly, so establishment in the first two seasons matters more than it does on heavier ground. Paul reads the actual soil at the first visit, rather than assuming from the postcode, because the ground changes across the area.
Asked what he would plant in a Weybridge garden on this soil, Paul names Japanese maples, Acer palmatum, alongside Daphne, Photinia and Camellia. That palette is the sand talking. Camellia needs acid ground, which is why it sits on the avoid list for Surrey's chalk and does well here, on free-draining ground under mature pines.
Work in the area
Projects in this patch include a full design and planting project in Burwood Park and a Japanese-influenced garden in Weybridge.
St Georges Hill is also within the area Paul works in. Virginia Water is covered from the same base.
What Paul does here
Full garden design, including what a project starts from, is set out on the Garden Design page. Standalone planting schemes are Planting Design. Ongoing specialist oversight of an established garden is Stewardship, which suits this area particularly. All of it starts the same way, with a conversation and then a visit.
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Yes. Paul works across Weybridge, Virginia Water, St Georges Hill, Burwood Park and the villages around them.
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Sandy and free-draining, quite unlike the heavy clay across much of Surrey, and typically under mature pines. Acid-loving planting does well on it. Paul assesses the actual soil at the first visit.
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Usually yes. Maintenance keeps a garden tidy, but it does not decide what the garden should become. The Plant Hunter's Stewardship exists to address that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Talk to Paul about your garden
The first step is a conversation, then a visit.