About me
True North Gardens combines my experience in graphic design and gardening with my desire to be outside, as far as possible! My work is focussed on finding creative ways to connect clients to that fresh-air-feeling, in ways that make sense to their lifestyle and budget.
I've designed a business that keeps that focus front and centre. This is all about spending the time to get to know you, sharing and shaping ideas and finally delivering a design that anticipates and answers everything you'd like in your outdoor space.
I design both full-space and specific-space projects for clients. If you're looking for help in a particular part of your garden, such as refreshing the planting, or creating a sociable area within it, I can focus on just this element.
I use 3D visual software as a key part of this process. Seeing the design helps you imagine yourself outside surrounded by it. Giving you clarity of vision, alongside defined design stages helps me guide your decision-making as the project progresses to completion.
Why work with me.
I've had the privilege of working with a variety of people to improve their experience of the places they live. I've helped to transform their gardens into views they love to look at, and spaces they are drawn into.
I've gathered a great appreciation for the particular way we can do this well in the Northern climate. Plucky planting and strong materials, refined details contrasted with rugged elements.
I'm greatly inspired by Scandinavian gardens and love to travel to get inspiration from creative spaces in these countries. Their often-shared outdoor spaces inspire me to design durable gardens that are both stunning and simple. In the UK, our gardens are also often a gift enjoyed by our neighbours and communities too!
Your design partner
True North Gardens is a design service. I work regularly with trusted landscapers that I can recommend to my clients, and I collaborate with your chosen landscaper throughout the process. I also work closely with a construction partner who both consults on project feasibility and delivers project elements.
Charis Doherty
KIND WORDS FROM OUR CLIENTS
'Charis helped me to understand how space, light, plants and careful landscaping could work to create a beautiful outdoor haven even in a small back yard. She made the planning fun and interesting, listened carefully to my own ideas and was hands on from beginning to end making sure that the result was just what I wanted. I was so happy with it that I asked her to redesign my front garden as well! I highly recommend True North Gardens and would turn to Charis again for any future project.'
Shirley, Tynemouth
KIND WORDS FROM CLIENTS
Charis was an absolute delight to work with! Her vision and design ideas were truly amazing, and she captured everything we wanted in multiple designs, giving us plenty of options to consider. She provided clear budgets for each option and was incredibly flexible, ensuring we got exactly what we wanted while staying within our desired budget. She fully understood our brief and brought so much enthusiasm and fun to the process. We are over the moon with our finished garden—it’s everything we hoped for and more! Charis even designed, sourced and planted all of our trees and plants, and knowing everything was in such capable hands gave us total peace of mind. If you’re looking for a talented, passionate, and dedicated garden designer, I would thoroughly recommend Charis. She is absolutely incredible!
Eve, N. Shields
KIND WORDS FROM CLIENTS
We have a large garden that we knew we could make more use of, and we wanted to create a covered shelter area so that we could sit outside more. However with two boys and a dog, we wondered whether we’d get the relaxation area we wanted! Charis was brilliant at understanding all the family needs and we have ended up incorporating a covered shelter with a corner sofa, a BBQ area and a lawn area bordered with some really nice planting. Charis even designed a hidden sports area for the kids with rubber matting and a basketball hoop, which isn’t visible from the house but hides neatly behind our outdoor shelter. Charis even cleverly designed the planting to be dog-friendly and fragrant, so that any stray footballs would only knock robust plants like lavender and release the perfume. The garden functions perfectly for all of us, and we’ve been able to stretch our outdoor usage from a couple of weeks in the summer right through the autumn and spring, with pizza oven nights in the shelter in colder months to summer BBQs with friends in the summer. It’s transformed our enjoyment of our garden, and was the best investment in our home.
Joanna, Fenham
KIND WORDS FROM OUR CLIENTS
My project was very complex within a fairly small space and the attention to detail and level of diligence were a delight to see. Charis really understood what I wanted to achieve better than I did and came up with designs that were had to choose berween. She found creative solutions to create a space that I continually enjoy using.
Astrid, Whitley Bay
KIND WORDS FROM MY CLIENTS
We had a boring new build garden and knew we wanted something different but didn't know where to start, so the design process Chris took us through was so helpful. It was really exciting to see the designs become a reality. Our garden has been totally transformed and we couldn't be happier.