Modern Garden Design Essex – Competition Winners

Brief

These clients live in Thorpe Bay, Essex and they won the garden design in a local magazine competition. They have lived in the property for a number of years, and the renovated the inside extensively.

They have a well established garden that works well which includes the patio and outdoor hot tub. However they feel the garden is dull and could offer a lot more in terms of interest. They live on the seafront and would like this garden design to include water in the design. The client also keeps beehives in the back garden.

Solution

This modern family garden design divides the garden into three areas. The common theme being a large water rill that runs down the right hand side of the space. The rill starts at the far end with a raised trough, falling with a water blade to a lower trough and then into a sunken rill further down the garden. It terminates near the existing raised patio into a sunken pool. As the client leaves existing patio, and area of travertine is laid adjacent to a pool suitable for keeping koi carp. Stepping stones lead across this pool to pathway travelling down the right hand side of the garden.

The first square of lawn is bisected by pathway, a lavender hedge and of stainless steel water rill edged with black grass. The pathway then doglegs left past cubed corten steel planters containing olive trees. It leads to an open pergola at the end of the garden, which has outdoor furniture placed around a brick built fireplace. Corten steel panels cover the back boundary at a height of 1800mm. To the left of the public area of the client’s existing beehives and a pathway to them for access.

The planting in the space is wildlife friendly predominantly for bees. Clipped box hedges accentuate the modern nature of the garden whilst the cottage trend planting helps to soften the overall scheme. Block planting make the planting bold and modern with evergreen shrubs and architectural grasses amongst long flowering perennials and a specimen blossom tree.

The existing hot tub area will remain as is and cited next to this will be a storage box containing the filtration system for the water feature.