An Art Deco Garden for a plantswoman in this Surrey landscape design

The client has lived in the house for a number of years and is currently renovating parts of the house. A keen gardener with an inherited garden, she is struggling to see what works in the space and where she should begin with regard to re-styling the garden. The client installed a pond a year or so ago which she would like to retain in the design. Directly outside the back door there is a small area before the garden levels up. The client would like to increase the size of this space to allow for a larger table when entertaining and socialising with friends. She would also like to ‘grow her own’ and to this end has a greenhouse and raised bed at the bottom of the garden. The house is Edwardian and the client is keen to reflect the age and style of the house in the final design.

The client has lived in the house for a number of years and is currently renovating parts of the house. A keen gardener with an inherited garden, she is struggling to see what works in the space and where she should begin with regard to re-styling the garden. The client installed a pond a year or so ago which she would like to retain in the design. Directly outside the back door there is a small area before the garden levels up. Gill would like to increase the size of this space to allow for a larger table when entertaining and socialising with friends. She would also like to ‘grow her own’ and to this end has a greenhouse and raised bed at the bottom of the garden. The house is Edwardian and the client is keen to reflect the age and style of the house in the final design.

 The area directly adjoining the house will be surfaced with mint fossil sandstone paving laid in a random pattern. An arced rendered block wall will retain the change in level in the space, with curved terraced steps leading to the upper section of the garden. Seating in the lower area will be provided by a concave timber bench fixed to the retaining wall.

A serpentine pathway edged with black limestone setts will arc down the garden around a central lawn . The first half of this path will be surfaced in mint fossil sandstone, while the second half will be surfaced with a buff self-binding aggregate (hoggin). The two halves of the path will be joined by a small oval patio in mint fossil sandstone.  A series of tall timber arches will frame the first section of the path, adding height and a sense of journey to the space. The second section of the path will feature an edging of step-over fruit trees between the path and the lawn.

A group of tapering raised beds constructed from railway sleepers will add a little height and depth to the bottom of the garden.

The existing pond will be improved with the addition of a slate rockery waterfall. A slate chip dressed sunken rill will snake down the garden towards the house, following the curve of the path. At the end will be a self-contained water feature, consisting of a flat slab of slate over which water is fed to cascade into a slate dressed reservoir below.

Flowers, paint or foliage are not the only way to add colour and interest to your garden. Flags are a wonderful way to add not only colour, but texture and movement into you outdoor space. Consider hanging bunting from tree boughs, or even across a garden. Windsocks, flags and banners will introduce height to an otherwise flat space. Try sticking to trusted garden design principles by using rhythm in your selection, such as groupings of 3 poles, or a symmetrical pattern.

Bunting is so easy to make and great fun for children to get involved with as well.

1) Draw a triangle on some cardboard and cut it out to use as a template.
2) Pin the template to your fabric and cut around it using pinking shears to avoid fraying. Repeat until you have enough flags.
3) Evenly space the flags along the bias binding tape, folding the shortest edge over, and pin in place.
4) Sew on the flags with a straight stitch, leaving at least 40cm of tape free from flags at each end for hanging.

So simple. Why not try making waterproof bunting from plastic sheeting, rubble sacks or oil cloths?

Sometimes furniture can make a garden. In the case of these chairs by designer Tord Boontje, they not only provide you with sun and shade but also add a great sculptural element to any garden design. Totally unique and a real statement, they are dramatic in both shape and colour and will liven up the dullest winter garden. 

The designer has this to say about his creations:

The Shadowy Chair deckchair and Sunny Longer sunbed have shapes that evoke the beach furniture found at the North Sea in Northern Europe in the twenties, become contemporary by the use of digitally drawn colour patterns and woven by expert African craftsmen using coloured plastic threads. 

The structure is in steel, with a robust shape. 

Shadowy has curious ruffles in the end parts, in the armrests and backrest that turn into a parasol cover.

The colored patterns are obtained by the weaving of four colours. Three versions are offered, one with three tones of green and blue, one with red, orange brown and yellow and the other with brown, white, pink and green.

The clients bought the property from new and have lived at the house for several years. Whilst they have made the interior just as they want it, the garden is as it was when the property was built, with some tired lawn and a concrete slab patio that does not offer the clients any opportunity to entertain or relax. The garden is quite shaded and overshadowed by a large brick wall along the back boundary which is part of a car park beyond.

The design aims to provide a low maintenance extension of the fresh and breezy nature of the interior of this family home. The area level with and adjoining the house will be paved with light grey sandstone to give enough space for the client to bring their large dining room table out into the garden when they wish to entertain. The remainder of the space will be floored with softwood decking, raised at one end to combat the slope and unite the garden as a continuous level surface. A slate tile edging will separate the sandstone and decked areas.

An ‘L’ shaped flush bed containing 4 box balls and a stainless steel water sphere will create a focal point from the house doors. A softwood timber pergola will enclose the decked area. This will be half roofed with timber joists onto which blue Perspex ‘lenses’ will be fixed. Suspended from the pergola frame is the main feature of the garden – a large, deep, timber swing seat ready for the client to dress with an array of cushions, mattresses and throws. Beaded curtains will hang down either side of the pergola structure to add definition and help to create the illusion of ‘a room in the garden’. Three globe lights hang from the pergola.

Along the left side of the back wall three 90cm high illuminated planters featuring box balls will add day- and night-time interest to the space. This is mirrored on the right side of the back boundary with three in non-illuminated white fibreglass planters. The left hand planters will be framed by three 3 outdoor canvas fixed to the wall (200cm x 40cm), whilst the right hand planters will benefit from a backdrop of backlit blue Perspex panels.

This long, thin garden design in Stanmore  is in need of a complete overhaul. The clients have developed their interior to cope with their increasing needs as a small family, and now need to realise the potential of their outdoor space. They would like to include a garden office and require ample space for their very active toddler. Budget constraints are a consideration in the redesign.

Hertfordshire Garden Design: Stanmore

The design divides the garden into distinct zones. Directly adjoining the back of the house will be a patio constructed from a combination of mint fossil sandstone slabs, sunken railway sleepers, creeping thyme and a sedum mix to fill, mortared with a sedum mix. The multiple textures in this flooring will give a high degree of interest while allowing the maximum usable surface area. The existing acer palmatum will remain and help frame the entrance to the next section of the garden. 

This divide is accentuated with the addition of a timber screen with apertures of various sizes, some filled – some left open to the view beyond. Some of the apertures are filled with small aggregate and other materials to add more texture to the garden. Directly behind this screen is a timber framed tunnel clad in stainless steel mesh, to the right of which, set back from the screen is the garden office. In front of the garden office, the decking is extended to allow for a cafe style table and chairs. Between the edge of the decking and the patio is a stainless steel sphere water feature nested in a bed, in order that its calming effects can be enjoyed from both the garden office and the patio. Moving down the garden past the existing yew tree, the existing storage chest has been relocated, and sits alongside the path that zig zags its way up the garden. This path will be laid with hoggin and edge in steel. The first lawn (one of three) laid on the diagonal has a timber frame over it to allow for versatility in hanging a swing, or fabric to transform it into a den. lawns 2 & 3 have a timber frame with mesh screen in them to add interest. To the right a raised railway sleeper planter allows the opportunity for a small bit of vegetable gardening. At the bottom of the garden, the space opens out into decking allowing another location at the bottom of the garden for relaxing. A 6 x 4 shed also provides extra storage.

We have just had one of our gardens, completed last year, re-photographed by Marcus Harper. The garden looks just fab and we are delighted with the images. To read all about this garden please visit the project page in our portfolio, listed as Funky London Garden Design.

A Modern Family Garden Design Southgate London  

  The client has lived with her husband and 2 children at the property for a number of years. She works from home and has a garden office at the end of the garden. The garden is split into two levels – the area directly adjoining the house is on one level and the remainder of the garden on another (raised) level. The client recently had an extension built to accommodate a kitchen and this has compromised the usefulness of the small lower section of the space, as there is now not a lot of room for seating. The majority of the garden is laid to lawn and is generally well kept and the client is not particularly keen to change the rest of the space. She does however wish to create a sociable area to accommodate a fair number of visitors. She prefers soft curves to angles and would like something modern and fresh.  

 The main focal point of the garden two semi-circular rendered block raised beds, finished at both ends with built-in circular planters and painted a colour of the client’s choice. The floor surfacing within the arc of each bed will be a 3 metre black limestone paving circle. The left hand raised bed will face directly across the garden, while the right hand raised bed, which will also benefit from an integrated curved bench seat, will be angled so that it faces the corner of the kitchen extension.  

Curved terraced steps, constructed from attractive Yellow Balau hardwood decking and designed to accommodate the change of level in the space, will join the two raised beds. Flooring in the lower section adjoining the house will be in black limestone paving in a random lay pattern. A feature of the lower section of the garden will be a kidney-shaped daybed, also constructed from durable Yellow Balau decking. Three tall tapered fibreglass planters lined along the side wall, over which three printed weatherproof canvas will be displayed, will add further interest and colour to the space.  

A curved path, laid with black limestone paving, will arc up the garden, bisecting a large area of Yellow Balau decking to the right and an oval lawn to the left, to terminate in a third 3m diameter black limestone circle in front of the existing summer house in the top left corner of the space. Bespoke decorative screens, comprising large rusted mesh panels on timber posts, installed towards the end of the path will add height and screening to the end of the garden.  

∙         Did some sketches for a garden design in Muswell Hill London

∙         In a bid for professional personal development I attended an advanced course in Google Sketch Up. Had a great time and learned loads, but as with all things, the more you learn the more you realise how much you didn’t know!

∙         Matt is returning to a Bethnal Green garden design and build nearly 3 years ago. The clients were having their basement totally refurbished at the time and we needed to  wait until the works had finished before we could return to install a delicate pebble mosaic rug outside the back door. Finally the extensive works have been completed and we can return to complete the job.

∙         Finally got the go ahead for phase one of the Manor House in Hertfordshire. The Kitchen garden is to be completed through July with the rest of the works to be undertaken at a later date.

∙         Matt continues to work hard landscaping in Kennington. The garden is coming on leaps and bounds now and we anticipate completion next week with the lighting and irrigation system installed.

∙         Matt returned to one of our duress we did a garden design in West Hampstead, London we built 4 years ago and it’s looking fab!

∙        Finally had some time to start our business plan for the coming year. Going to look at developing our garden design by post service so we can design gardens internationally and following on from the recent interest in California garden designers, hope to get the opportunity for some variety. Also hope to develop our budget garden range ‘flat pack gardens’ aimed at the smaller budget and working with gardens of a set size and a series of options to select from on order to build  their garden on a budget. We hope the retail price to be £12,000 Inc

• Had another enquiry from the USA. As follows:

‘Hi there,

We are very interested in your designs.  Do you know of anyone in southern California (USA) that can help us with our landscape design?  Thanks.

Daniel & Sue’

• The garden in Kennington is coming on well. Finally managed to clear the site of soil and get stuck into more of the construction.  All of the plants have now gone in. The pergola, water feature and lighting is due to be finished off over the coming week.
• Matt has finished the garden build in north London, he just needs to return now to oversee the installation of the hot tub at the end of the month.
• Matt conducted the garden survey in Stanmore.
• Alison, who contacted us about her garden design in California, was sent scamps as a response to her postal design kit. Helen is now collating her responses to the scamps in order to produce the final designs for the garden.
• We were sent another build update from the garden design clients in Essex. Jon and Karen are doing a self build for their garden in Hawkwell, Essex. We can’t wait to see it finished.
• Dulux contacted us to see if we would potentially like to become one of their preferred suppliers, to tie our garden design service on London and the South East with their recommend suppliers. We are in talks to work with them to offer Earth Designs garden design and postal design service throughout the UK.
• Had another meeting about with the Wild Place Your Space wildlife garden team. Have some planning and scheduling issues to sort out, but will hopefully start to move forward on this project soon.

Allison  came back to us regarding a postal garden design for her house in California, USA . More on this in the coming weeks.

A new client, Alex, has commissioned a design for his garden in Stanmore. He wishes to include a play area and garden office in the plans. Matt is off to do the garden survey this week.

Finally the landscaping in Blackheath is all but finished. It has been a very long struggle to secure from the items from Morocco, as our first supplier let us down repeatedly and we were forced to source a new supplier. It was worth the wait though as the garden now looks fabulous. Many thanks to Jan and Adrian for their patience and here’s to a garden they can finally enjoy.

Matt started a garden landscape build in South London this week . There is very poor access and as there is a lot more sub-base in the garden than we anticipated it has been a slow start to the project. Hopefully once the clearance phase has passed things should start to speed up.

Had confirmation that the contemporary kitchen garden at the Manor House is to go ahead in a few weeks, with the rest of the build coming in a few months.

The Kitchen Garden 

Set within the old courtyard, this will be a stylish and social eating and relaxation area to complement the adjacent kitchen.  A circular table will be placed centrally, with the possibility of adding an outdoor kitchen to this area rather than the serpentine terrace if preferred. Planting will be provided by polished stainless steel tanks along the along the side of the staff accommodation (possibly planted with lavender), and tall polished steel planters planted with olive trees positioned between each window along the utility wing.  A unique sculpture (to be agreed with the client) will be placed so that it provides a focal point from the window at the end of the long corridor in the main house. Surfacing in the courtyard will be travertine paving installed in a random-lay pattern, with a circular cut-out around the central table planted with walkover planting such as lawn chamomile or creeping thyme.

The garden lighting and electrics were finished in the garden design in North London in Holloway this week. Matt is to return to the site in a couple of weeks to oversee the installation of the garden hot tub