Garden Design in Leytonstone: Garden Of The Month February 2010

This month profiles a garden design in Leytonstone, London, which we designed and built back in 2003. We are still in touch with the owners, so we have been able to watch the garden blossom and mature over the years.

This plot was a long urban garden and was almost completely bare, but for two large, established trees. The client was attempting to construct a pond in the near right corner using green slate boulders as decoration, and requested that this should be included in the design.

The interior of the house had a modern, contemporary feel fused with Victorian architecture. As the patio doors lead directly from the kitchen/diner into the garden, the garden becomes very much an extension of the house – as such the style of the interiorwas of particular consideration in the design the exterior space.

Andrew and Lesley Bray wrote to us to ask for our help with their garden in Leamington Spa.  They had some decking which the wished to retain and wanted a small child friendly garden. They also wanted a modern and contemporary garden in which to entertain friends and relax.

SOLUTION:

The final design created a low maintenance garden with a simple and contemporary feel. The area directly behind the house was laid with decking, running half way down the left side of the space. New wooden fences, to replace the existing worn out wire fences, were erected down the right of the garden, onto which a selection of clematis and everlasting sweet peas were trained.

The main area of the garden consisted of a tapered, oval shaped lawn, encircled by a raised bed following the same shape as the lawn. A smaller, tapered oval raised bed in the middle of the lawn served to slightly mask the bottom of the garden, breaking up the space and helping to create a sense of intrigue.

The simplicity of the borders was echoed in the planting, which consisted of white flowers and green foliage. Cool, crisp and elegant, a white planting scheme provides an air of harmony and tranquillity, and is well suited to the style of the garden and the interior of the house. An area devoted to graceful architectural ferns helped to accentuate the simplicity
of the space and serves to provide a stunning and effective display throughout the year.

Re-designing the layout of the client’s existing pond, using state boulders together with a powerful pump to produce an effective waterfall, helped to create a striking water feature. The pond and surrounding area was given life with the addition of water lilies and other aquatic and semi-aquatic plants. A bowed Cedrus libani (ssp.atlantica) ‘Glauca’, trailing branches in the water, presented the final flourish to the space.

TESTIMONIAL:

“Katrina and her team worked extremely hard and long hours to complete the garden quickly and with minimum disruption to our home. Considering that we have no access other than through the entire house, there was almost no disruption to our lives.

Watching the garden grow from its original design and come to life was amazing. It exceeded our expectations completely, and the aftercare pack and service offered by Earth Designs was brilliant.

We have no hesitation in recommending Earth Designs to any of our friends, who have also been amazed with our fantastic new garden – of course we have been showing it off at every sunny opportunity. Thanks to Katrina and her team at Earth Designs for such a fantastic design, utilising the space brilliantly and creating an outside space that we are extremely proud of.”