Rear garden transformation
At the outset the client told me her garden depressed her so much she no longer ventured out. One year on, after a total rebuild, she emailed me: 'It’s truly a pleasure now to spend time sitting in the garden listening to the birds, contemplating life and enjoying the pops of colour that surprise and fill the eye wherever you look.'
Key changes
Cleared out all the existing hard landscaping which had deteriorated over time
Moved and set aside any plants and shrubs which were later replanted
Pruned and trimmed all trees, large shrubs and hedging
Installed new stone coloured porcelain patio which immediately brought up the light levels and made the house itself look brighter
Added new lawn set within circle shape created with metal edging
Planted 3 new trees and substantial amount of additional new planting
Added Scottish pebbles, bark and shingle
New greenhouse and summer house installed
New retractable hose fitted to wall
Old glass greenhouse and plastic compost bins given away for re-use
Working within the boundaries
The original landscaping materials, much of which had turned black, were ripped out but we retained all the existing boundary hedges, trees and large shrubs. The lawn area was full of weeds and moss and not worth battling with - hence all new turf was laid.
We retained almost all of the existing shrubs, some of which were moved during winter. Last step was to add 100 new plants, a mix of soft herbaceous perennials, small shrubs and grasses.
In autumn we are going to review all the planting and I plan to add in some winter flowering shrubs and plant a large amount of allium and tulip bulbs - for next year.
The starting point
The owners called me in because the garden was tired and neglected and consequently they had lost interest. A neighbour’s window had become a point of contention and made the owners feel uncomfortable in their own space.
My redesign included a large Photinia evergreen standard tree placed to obscure the annoying window and a new summer house created an enclosed seating area shielded from onlookers.
A new 12 metre circle of lush new turf provides a unifying form in a garden where all the boundary elements are on a different angle.