The clients had already made great strides to clear the garden in this ground floor flat, and in the process had actually lowered the level of the garden and removed several tons of soil. The main area of the space is bordered on two sides by a Victorian brick wall, sturdy and sound yet weathered and full of character, with a sideway running down one side of an extension on the original Victorian house.
At first, the clients had no specific requirements for the space, other than it be low maintenance and contain some large, leafy, architectural plants. However, they were keen to have quite a hands-on approach to the design and build process, and the original design was modified by them in consultation with Earth Designs several times both before and during construction.
With this design the aim was to create a simple and elegant space, suitable for both formal and informal dining and entertaining. The main area of the garden was framed on three sides by waist high raised beds with white rendered retaining walls, with a lower raised bed, also with white rendered walls, running three quarters of the length of the sideway.
A section of the rendered walls of this lower bed formed the supports for a bench seat, left hollow inside with a hinged decking lid for waterproof garden storage. A bespoke wooden pergola, upon which evergreen Clematis Armandii and 'Vitis Brant' vine was trained, was constructed over the low bed and bench seat to provide a sense of seclusion and demarcation between this area and the garden proper.
Throughout the garden the floor was laid with natural grey slate tile in a diamond pattern, edged with a straight run of slate tiles specially selected for their amber and copper hues.
Bold architectural planting complemented the simple design perfectly, concentrating mainly on big leafy greens and soft ferns with a selection of textures and shades of green. Several evergreen shrubs were chosen to hold interest during the winter months, while grasses and hostas will steal the show throughout the summer.
Lighting in this space is designed to ensure that this is a truly nocturnal garden. 12 white eyelids inserted into the main raised beds will flood the paving below in an elegant and aesthetically pleasing manner. Low-voltage spotlights in the raised beds are carefully placed to illuminate the foliage to its best advantage while creating a gentle ambient glow across the beds. Finally, up/down lighters positioned on the crossbeams of the pergola provide light to the sideway and create a dramatic and intriguing entrance into the garden.
"Just a short note to say that I am absolutely thrilled with Earth Designs' work on my garden.
From design through to construction and snagging, Earth Designs provided an excellent service in respect of which I have no complaints.
