Garden Design - Bayswater, London W2
This design utilises a circular motif to tie the two levels together into one fairly fluid space.
The terrace and sideway will be re-laid with Indian sandstone paving in a random lay pattern. The terrace wall will be removed and replaced with an L-shaped railway sleeper raised bed, approximately 50cm wide and 75 cm high (from terrace level), running partway across the space and along the right side of the terrace. As well as demarking the boundary between the terrace and garden proper, the bed will form the back of an L-shaped railway sleeper fixed bench. Measuring approximately 2m long on both sides and complimented by a large freestanding railway sleeper table, this area will provide ample seating for alfresco entertaining.
To the left of the terrace, three circular terraced steps, decreasing in size from 2.4m diameter to 1m diameter, lead one from the terrace to the garden below. The two larger steps will be laid with Indian sandstone paving in a circle cut pattern and edged with a ring of black granite setts. The bottom, and smallest, step will be constructed from a single sandstone centre stone edged with three rings of black granite sett. The centre stone from the top step will be omitted to accommodate a Celtic Slate monolith water feature, to provide an attractive focal point to the upper section of the garden.
The lower garden will feature a centrally placed circular lawn, edged with a 50cm wide ring of black granite sett paving. A 2.4m diameter circular sandstone patio in the bottom right corner will be ideally situated to make the most of the afternoon sun. The existing garage will be hidden from the rest of the garden with the construction of a sculptural screen comprising a curved line of vertical railway sleepers snaking across the back of the space. A total of 20 lengths of sleeper will be installed, each spaced 25cm from the preceding sleeper and increasing in height by 7.5cm increments rising from 50cm at one end (right) to 2m at the other(left).
Planting in the space will be lush and architectural, concentrating principally on leaf colour, shape and form, and spiced up with a few 'hot' coloured flowering plants for the summer months. Climbers will be used extensively to (eventually) cover the boundaries and encouraged to climb the sleeper 'spiral' to help mask the existing concrete garage. Plants of note will include 3 x Dicksonia Antartica (tree fern) situated in the lower garden, with shade loving ferns and soft foliage plants running down the right side and spiky, sun loving, architectural plants along the left (sunnier) side of the space.
The garden will be finished with an assortment of ambient lighting to lend a magical aspect when the sun goes down. The lighting scheme is designed to create mood rather than offer overly functional illumination, and will comprise a selection of low voltage, low wattage fittings. Low voltage spots placed throughout the beds will produce a general wash across the space, whilst highlighting individual specimen plants and illuminating each upright of the curved railway sleeper screen. Pea (fairy) lights will be strung throughout the existing tree to define its main branches, while white rope lights will be used to delineate the fixed bench seating. Finally, micro LED lights set into the riser of each of the circular steps will safely guide the garden user on their journey through the space.