Garden of the Month – July 2011
This London garden design creates a split-level space in which there are two distinct sections. The first is an area of slate paving (client to choose style of slate) within a flush framework of treated oak railway sleepers, upon which the client could include a table and chairs, a steamer chair or fire pit. This will also provide a suitable area to house her Asian-style statues and other ephemera.
The second section consists of a raised area of slate paving, framed on three sides by railway sleeper raised beds and featuring two large, L-shaped, railway sleeper bench seats. The two sections of the space will be joined by railway sleeper steps to provide a simple sense of continuity, while the side boundaries of the garden will be re-fenced with standard closeboard fencing. The fencing will then be clad with bamboo screening to both lighten the space and add an Asian flavour to the garden.
The end boundary will be replaced with a block wall, rendered and painted lilac. This will also help to add light to the space, will give the garden a courtyard feel and will allow for adornment in the form of a large sunburst-shaped mirror edged with bamboo cane. Further ornamentation could be added to the wall by the client at a later date.
Planting will feature a 10ft Prunus cerasifera Nigra, or purple-leafed cherry, in the back right hand corner of the garden, which over time will help to lend some privacy and height to the space. The raised beds will include a colour palette of various dark leaved plants with cerise pink flowers. Selected for their slightly unusual or exotic appeal, coupled with their low-maintenance nature, these plants will give the space year round interest and appeal. Climbers will utilise the vertical in the space to its best advantage, while two tall bamboo in containers placed either side of the steps will demarcate the division of the space and help to increase privacy in the lower area. The garden will be given a sculptural quality with the inclusion of upended railway sleepers within the raised beds. The finishing touch to the space will come from a slate chip mulch to cover all the planted beds.
