Make your garden more sustainable or your street a wildlife haven and, in the process, rewild the city.
Are you missing the insects and birds in your garden? Do you buy plants from nurseries only to see them perish? Shocked by just how many chemicals you use on your lawn? Had enough of throwing away single-use, non-recyclable pots? Do you, ineffect, pour water on to bare soil all summer?
There is a different way.
If you work with me, we’ll turn your lawn into a wild flower meadow, we’ll aim for zero-waste, we’ll nurture your soil so it needs little or no watering, we’ll forage plants from friends and neighbours (having asked permission) or grow them from seed or cuttings and you’ll enjoy your garden buzzing with insects and wildlife.
See some of my current projects here.
How I work
I am both a plant designer and a gardener – I both work out how to make your vision for your garden come to life and I also come back regularly to maintain it.
I can
- give you a plan to rethink the way you manage your garden and work with you to deliver it,
- plot a route to turn your lawn into a meadow to encourage wildlife and wildflowers,
- create a plan with your neighbours and you to turn the tree pits in your street into guerilla gardens that are a haven for pollinators and
- advise your community on how to develop a public space so that it is both welcoming to people and wildlife.
Contact me
for my fees by emailing me at john.welsh@rewildingthecity.com.
I charge one fee for both planting design and maintenance as there is rarely a gap between the two.
What clients and neighbours say

“John has transformed my garden by choosing the right plants and showing me that, with careful maintenance, you can create a beautiful garden that will last for many years.“
Amanda Baillieu, client
Private gardens

“I love walking around and sitting in the garden.
“John has made this garden live again.”
Para Hamilton, client
“John Welsh has acquired a reputation, locally, as a genius with green fingers. Everything he touches turns into a magical space.“
Céline La Frenière, Friends of Talacre Town Green

Meadows

“The guerrilla gardens in the tree pits have transformed our street.
“Its not just visually, but socially, too. ”
“They are a daily revelation.”
Jane Mays, neighbour