WORK IN PROGRESS

This traditional design seamlessly integrates with its traditional surroundings, enhancing the space’s character while ensuring practicality and elegance.

The brief was to create a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS)—a compliant, low-maintenance garden with structured planting and a harmonious colour palette that complements the Victorian front path while providing a sense of privacy from the road.

At the entrance, you are welcomed by a carefully curated selection of fragrant plants. Trachelospermum jasminoides, with its delicately scented flowers, climbs the walls on either side of the door, offering a captivating autumnal display as its foliage transforms into rich seasonal hues.

Various red and white flowering perennials and plants are interwoven among predominantly evergreen shrubs, creating year-round interest in its naturally loose growth habit. The Photinia x fraseri’ Red Robin’ hedge displays striking red juvenile leaves that mature to deep green. Its clusters of creamy white spring flowers provide privacy and visual appeal with minimal pruning requirements.

Beneath the climbers, the intoxicating fragrance of Daphne odora greets visitors in another season, adding depth and sensory delight to the space. Rosa ‘Deep Secret’ and Nandina domestica take turns to flourish, each other contributing bursts of seasonal colour and texture.

The soft tones of Cheshire Pink Gravel subtly balance the vibrancy of the planting while ensuring compliance with SuDS regulations, facilitating natural drainage and enhancing the overall aesthetic of this timeless yet practical design.

The primary objective for this garden was to create a safe, level space for children to play while maintaining an elegant and stylish environment for adult relaxation and entertaining. I incorporated a small lawn for play without compromising the overall design aesthetic.

The planting scheme is bold and architectural, featuring carefully selected specimen plants. The striking Dicksonia antarctica in the first raised planter adds height and visual intrigue near the patio. At the same time, the impressive Tetrapanax papyrifer, positioned at the opposite end of the garden, contributes dramatic foliage.

A bespoke living pergola offers a shaded retreat in the far left-hand corner. Magnolia grandiflora was chosen for this feature, as its evergreen foliage provides a year-round structure, and its large, waxy cream flowers add seasonal beauty.

I introduced softer planting to balance the strong architectural elements with a refined palette of elegant whites. Vibrant tulip bulbs inject seasonal bursts of bold colour, adding depth and contrast.

White natural stone paving extends along the shadier left-hand side, enhancing lightness and continuity. Shade-tolerant grasses and the evergreen climber Hydrangea seemannii thrive in this environment, quickly covering the fencing and enriching the garden’s texture.

For the evening ambience, the raised planters and rear planting bed are illuminated with discreet uplighting, creating a dramatic effect.

This garden is a sophisticated yet practical outdoor retreat—perfect for soaking up the sun, enjoying a Cosmopolitan, or gathering for a family meal.

The brief for this compact garden was to create a stylish, low-maintenance space for relaxation and entertaining.

New slatted fencing provides a sense of cohesion, with the side panels intentionally kept low to maintain a friendly connection with neighbours. A subtly elevated paved terrace captures optimal sunlight, offering an inviting setting for leisure and social gatherings. We selected sophisticated beige porcelain paving to enhance the sense of light and space.

A practical storage shed is placed discreetly beneath a substantial pergola adorned with Trachelospermum jasminoides, whose fragrant blossoms add a delightful sensory experience to the area. A dedicated barbecue area is integrated into the lawn section, providing a convenient and stylish outdoor cooking space. I planted the raised beds at the garden’s far end with pleached Photinia x fraseri’ Red Robin’, introducing vertical interest while serving as an elegant, evergreen screen from the railway arches beyond.

In response to the clients’ request for fresh culinary herbs, a designated planting area has been incorporated into the left-hand corner of the raised beds, ensuring easy access.

Stepping paving planks guide the journey from the house through the garden, interspersed with creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum ‘Snowdrift’), which releases a delicate fragrance underfoot, enhancing the pathway’s sensory appeal.

Every plant selection was meticulously curated to be easy to maintain while delivering striking visual impact, ensuring this garden remains a timeless retreat with minimal upkeep.

The clients envisioned a charming cottage-style garden – featuring easy-to-manage plants, a low-maintenance gravelled area, and a summerhouse designed as a tranquil retreat with picturesque views of the garden.

A soft and delicate colour palette was chosen for the planting, accentuated by the deep, dramatic tones of Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ and Sedum ‘Jose Aubergine,’ adding a striking contrast to the garden’s overall serenity.

To introduce vertical interest, natural wooden obelisks were strategically placed in three of the flower beds, adorned with perennial and annual sweet peas, Clematis, and Solanum laxum ‘Album’ These structures create a sense of height and visual depth within the planting scheme.

A fragrant herb bed, rich with aroma, was thoughtfully positioned to the right of the summerhouse, and a raised bed constructed from sleepers on the left offers ample space for cultivating vegetables and fruit, catering to both beauty and functionality.

We installed three wooden trellis panels to conceal an oil tank elegantly covered with the dependable climbing Rosa ‘Iceberg,’ blending utility with aesthetic appeal.

Classic cottage garden favourites, such as Erigeron karvinskianus, Lupins, and Delphiniums, are interspersed with modern additions like Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ and Phlomis italica, creating a harmonious blend of traditional and contemporary planting.

A low-growing County Rose hedge artfully divides the cottage garden from the lawn area, and we used Cotswold Stone gravel to enhance the sense of light and space throughout the garden, adding to its welcoming atmosphere.

Following the decision to downsise, our client expressed a desire for a garden that exudes romance while requiring minimal upkeep, showcasing its beauty during the early and late seasons when they are in residence.

The planting palette is predominantly white, softened with delicate pink accents, creating a serene and timeless aesthetic, with an abundance of spring and summer-flowering bulbs – offering striking winter interest through the textural appeal of dried seed heads and flower heads. Raised beds enhance accessibility and harmoniously complement the adjacent Outdoor Office.

White climbers and roses have been trained along the fencing, adding vertical interest and elegance. The patio, laid with light-coloured sandstone, serves as a generous and sophisticated space for family gatherings, further elevated by ambient lighting that ensures the area remains inviting well into the evening.

Honeystone chippings soften the transitions and complement the sandstone paving, adding to the garden’s charm. Two smaller seating areas have been strategically placed near the home office and the house, offering distinct perspectives and intimate spaces to enjoy the garden’s beauty.

Ambient lighting has been discreetly installed throughout the garden – to enhance the overall atmosphere, ensuring it remains a captivating retreat day and night.

The emphisis of the brief for this SuDS compliant front garden was  practicality – housing a parking area and plenty of space for storage and recycling.

Light and soft colours reflect the theme of the house. Dove Limestone Gravel compliments the charcoal colour of the permeable pavers used for the new path as well and edging.

The pathway leading to the front door is edged with a Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’ hedge providing a strong aesthetic and a substantial source of nectar for local bees.

Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Queen’ hedges soften the views dividing the parking space and house.

The existing cherry tree was replaced with a Prunus ‘Kursar’, displaying resplendent double pink cherry blossom during the spring period.

Over time the side fences will be coated with pink blooms of Rosa glauca (sunlit area), and with the white flower heads of Hydrangea seemannii (shaded area).

This lightly planted garden displays all year interest, requiring low-maintenance throughout the year, in-line with the client’s request.

The brief was for a low-maintenance garden populated by – a large volume of plants displaying all-year interest with no lawn and a play area with a slide, swings and soft play mat for their children to utilise.

The garden displays flower beds formed with elegant sweeping curved lines, planted with a lush variety of grasses, perennials, bulbs and fruit trees – a selection of fragrant climbers are also trained on the boundary fencing. Dark slate chippings – with interspersed stepping stones, were used for ground cover. The chippings offer an elegant contrast to the pink and white planting palette – the stepping stones and provide a perfect match to the patio area.

A small space for growing edibles was achieved – by constructing a raised bed, planted with a selection of herbs and fruit, including mint, raspberries and strawberries.

The rear of the garden contains the play space, including slides, swings and soft play mats. This area is divided from the main garden space by A row of Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’

The design brief for this garden focused on crafting an elegant and inviting space for entertaining, highlighted by exotic and architectural planting. To achieve this vision, bold and robust materials were chosen for the hard landscaping. The combination of black decking and grey concrete slabs contrasts with the lush greenery, creating a sophisticated and visually dynamic environment.

On the left side of the garden, we constructed a bog bed using recycled railway sleepers, providing a perfect setting for a majestic Gunnera manicata, which serves as a dramatic focal point.

At the rear, we planted a wall of red-stemmed bamboo, Fargesia ‘Jiuzhaigou’ adding a vibrant and contemporary feature to the garden and functioning effectively as a noise barrier against the nearby railway. Integrated mood lighting further enhances the bamboo, particularly in the evening, creating an atmospheric backdrop.

The right side of the garden embraces a Mediterranean-inspired theme, where silver and grey-leaved plants are artfully paired with burgundy-leaved shrubs and perennials, offering a pleasing contrast and warmth to the overall design.

We planted the dining area flower bed with herbs interwoven with Euphorbias and Hydrangeas. This careful selection releases invigorating fragrances during the summer, enhancing the sensory experience and adding to the appeal.

Mood lighting – is installed throughout the garden. This lighting accentuates the structural beauty of the trees and foliage, ensuring that the space remains visually compelling and inviting after dark.