Modern Garden Design Presentation

Brief

This family garden in East London has remained largely untouched over the years and is neglected and overgrown. The client now wishes to create a family garden design that is both usable and accessible for all everyone to use. The client prefers curves to straight lines. It is a slightly complicated site, with both side access points on a slope and a difficult space at the rear with several mature trees and split levels.

Solution

This London garden design seeks to create a unified space, bringing together the different levels and creating a space at the bottom of the garden which can be utilised to its full potential. The mature trees will be thinned out in the design. Directly adjoining the house will be a deep patio laid with mint fossil paving in a random pattern, with a sensually curved front edge leading to the rest of the garden and large curved steps leading from the back door. The paving will continue up both sideways. Set within the curved patio is a contrasting detail inlay comprising a sandstone circle in autumn brown colouring.

Adjoining the main patio will be low rendered raised beds topped with sandstone capping stones, positioned to help to create a feeling of enclosure. One joining the lawn will incorporate the existing tree. A self-binding gravel pathway with Autumn Brown sandstone sett edging will snake down the garden around an elliptical lawn laid on a diagonal across the garden. The lawn will be bordered with flush planting beds.

The pathway leads past a hexagonal summer house towards the rear left of the space to a small curved patio with sandstone circle inlay at the bottom right of the garden. The summer house opens out on three sides onto the patio at the rear. This area will be bordered by low raised beds to retain the difference in soil height along the exiting boundaries. Two of the existing trees will be removed to open the space up for more planting and improve light levels in this part of the garden. A fence panel will be replaced in the back centre of rear boundary.

Planting in the space will be lush with shade loving plants and a combination of shrubs, hardy perennials, evergreens and plants with seasonal interest planted in drift blocks throughout the planting areas.