Garden design and landscaping in Ham
Creating beautiful gardens across Ham.
Ham occupies a green bend of the Thames between Richmond and Kingston, with a real sense of village about it – and a remarkable horticultural neighbour in the Restoration gardens of Ham House. Its gardens range from the Georgian and period houses around Ham Common, to the architecturally significant mid-century Parkleys estate with its communal landscape, to the riverside plots near Ham Lands and Ashburnham Road. The ground varies from heavy clay in the village to free-draining gravel out towards the river. We are equally at home with a compact period courtyard and a larger family garden by the common, and our approach responds to the property rather than imposing a single house style.
Garden design in Ham
Every project begins with a proper reading of the site and how you intend to live in it. Our garden design and build service turns that into a considered scheme, and for clients who want everything resolved before work starts, we provide designs and plans with layouts, levels and written planting schemes. Whether you are searching for garden design in Ham or simply weighing up ideas, we will give you an honest view of what the space can become.
Many Ham gardens sit within conservation areas, around Ham Common and Ham House, where boundary treatments, hard landscaping and tree work need a sensitive, well-judged hand. These are exactly the conditions we enjoy resolving, whether the answer is a well-proportioned courtyard garden, a clever side return, or careful fencing and screening in keeping with the area’s leafy, semi-rural character.
Garden build and landscaping in Ham
Once a design is agreed, our team carries out the construction, covering the full range of hard and soft landscaping. As experienced landscapers in Ham, we lay patios, paths and driveways on properly engineered foundations, in porcelain, natural sandstone and traditional paving, and we build decking, pergolas, retaining walls and other garden features and structures. On riverside plots near Ham Lands we pay particular attention to levels and drainage, often using free-draining, permeable surfaces. Our soft landscaping, from turfing and new lawns to fully planted borders, is handled by trained horticulturists, and where a smaller garden needs to look good with little upkeep we design dedicated low-maintenance gardens too.
Features in demand in Ham
Ham’s position between Richmond Park and the meadows of Ham Lands makes naturalistic, pollinator-friendly planting a natural fit, and it is the feature we are asked for most here. On the free-draining, sandy gravel towards Ham Lands we plant relaxed, meadow-influenced borders alive with bees and butterflies, using natives and near-natives such as field scabious Knautia arvensis, greater knapweed Centaurea scabiosa, musk mallow Malva moschata and oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare; see our naturalistic garden page. On the village’s more enclosed plots we create relaxed courtyard gardens where paving dissolves into gravel, and add pergolas and raised sleeper beds for height and productive planting.
Garden maintenance in Ham
Our garden maintenance service keeps planting healthy and the whole space in balance as it establishes, carried out by trained horticulturists rather than general gardeners. For many Ham homeowners this is the most valued part of what we do: regular, knowledgeable care that understands seasonal timing, correct pruning, lawn care and hedge work. We tailor each programme to the garden, from the regular care of a small or low-maintenance space near Ham Common, to the upkeep of a larger garden by the river, to scheduled communal garden maintenance for the communal landscapes of estates such as Parkleys.
Ham ground conditions and local considerations
Ham’s ground is genuinely varied. Much of the village sits on heavy London Clay, which holds water in winter, shrinks and cracks in summer and has a direct bearing on drainage, lawns and planting; out towards Ham Lands the old Thames gravel workings leave free-draining, sandy and gravelly ground, while the plots closest to the river lie on damper alluvium. A soil check at the outset is always worthwhile. Getting the soil right is the foundation of everything that follows, which is why we put real care into improving clay soil where it is heavy and into matching planting to lighter ground elsewhere. On clay, dependable performers such as Viburnum tinus, Amelanchier lamarckii, Cornus sanguinea and Hydrangea paniculata earn their place, with reliably clay-happy roses alongside; on the free-draining gravel of the Ham Lands side Lavandula angustifolia and Verbena bonariensis thrive, and for damp, riverside ground we turn to Iris pseudacorus and Filipendula ulmaria. Where heavy ground or a high water table leads to persistent waterlogging, our flooded garden solutions resolve the problem at its source. We are also mindful of the conservation areas, mature trees and tree preservation orders, and the protected settings of Ham House and Richmond Park, and design with those in view.
Recent work in Ham
We have completed a range of projects across Ham and the wider borough, and nearby our ongoing garden maintenance in Richmond shows the same horticultural approach. You can see more in our portfolio.
Why choose Flourish Landscaping in Ham
- Genuine, local knowledge of Ham, from Ham Street and Ham Common to Riverside and the Ham Lands
- A sensitive hand for conservation-area gardens around Ham Common and Ham House
- Equally at home with a period courtyard, a communal landscape or a larger family garden
- Design, build and maintenance handled in-house, with one point of contact throughout
- Degree-qualified horticultural expertise behind every plant choice
- Independently accredited by APL, TrustMark, the Institute of Horticulture, the Gardeners Guild and the HTA
- Fully insured, with transparent written proposals and no hidden extras
Areas we cover near Ham
As well as Ham, we regularly work in Richmond, Kew, East Sheen, Teddington and Twickenham, as well as neighbouring Petersham and Ham Common, and Kingston across the river. If your address falls just outside these areas, please do still get in touch.
Discuss your Ham garden
If you are considering a new garden, structural landscaping works or ongoing maintenance in Ham, we would be pleased to visit, walk the site and talk through what you are hoping to achieve. Initial consultations are without obligation, with clear and honest guidance on what would work well for your garden, your budget and your timescale.
Contact us today to arrange a free consultation.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Flourish Landscaping provides garden design and landscaping services in Ham and across the TW10 area. We work with residential clients on full garden transformations, planting design, hard landscaping and bespoke garden features, with particular experience in parkland-edge gardens and Thames-side properties.
Yes. Ham has many properties with generous and sometimes irregular plots. Our design team is experienced in managing complex garden layouts and creating cohesive designs that make the most of available space and outlook.
Our planting schemes are developed from first principles, working from aspect, soil type, shelter and the client's aesthetic brief. Ham gardens often benefit from the proximity to Richmond Park, which informs a naturalistic or wildlife-friendly planting approach where the client wants it. On boundary gardens we also factor in occasional deer pressure when selecting boundary plants.
Flourish Landscaping works across Richmond, Petersham, Kingston, Twickenham, Teddington and the wider South West London area. Contact us on 020 8399 0533 to discuss your project.
