Mark Whyte says: “Having grown up in a Kentish coastal town, I’ve been immersed in its exhilarating energy allmy life. I spent most of my formative years chasing storms and exploring pebbly beaches. I often stood on thepromenade, risking my life to experience the energy of a 60mph gale! As an adult, I’ve relished blustery dogwalks, sea swimming and coastal photography and am constantly inspired by its ever-changing moods.“In 2014, after a long career in gardening and landscaping, I found myself on the garden design path andcreated Ivy & Whyte Garden Design. Over the years, our designs have evolved naturally into themes inspiredby the coastal landscape, and we’ve recently expanded to be able to offer Ivy and Whyte Sussex as well as Ivyand Whyte Kent, covering pretty much the whole of the South East coast.“Coastal Garden Design requires special attention where plant and material choices are concerned, and we arepassionate about ensuring our designs are modern, thoughtful and timeless. We have had great fun andexcitement working with our clients over the years on some amazing coastal concepts, which very oftencontain a range of bespoke ideas, such as sea groyne water features and unique metal sculptures.“In 2016 we challenged ourselves to create a coastal-themed show garden for the world’s largest flower showat Hampton Court. The garden incorporated a giant 3m high and 14m long cresting wave made from 800lengths of steam bent wood. This huge sculpture was surrounded by a natural coastal landscape inspired byDungeness in Kent. It had a fantastic reception at the show and gained us a Silver Guilt RHS medal. After a yearspent on designing, building and even growing the garden (we grew most of our plants from seed), we werecertainly tired, but exhilarated by the end of the project.”Read more about this authorRead less about this author