Portfolio

A London Town Garden

Garden Design Brief

The landscape before the design To design, build and plant the garden of a London town house whose garden had been destroyed in the construction of an extension to the existing building.

The garden is bordered by a large number of trees on the neighbouring land, including a willow. This has had a negative impact on the ability of plants to grow and thrive.

The client does a lot of entertaining so required a large patio area outside the kitchen.

Additionally, the client also had the following requirements:

Year-round colour
A uniform boundary without negotiating with the neighbours
A lawn that would not look scruffy in winter
An area for a memorial bench

Design Solution

Materials

The decision was taken to use the same type of brick as the extension has been constructed with. This achieved a marriage between the house and the garden.

The interior design of the kitchen extension was modern so paving was laid stretcher bond rather than random.

Features

The existing boundary was clad with a smart new trellis, giving definition to the boundary of the property.

A root barrier was installed to curtail the incursion of the willow roots.

Raised beds were installed to improve drainage and soil fertility and to provide structure in the garden, with easier maintenance.

An artificial lawn was installed giving a year-round, maintenance free, lush looking lawn.

Planting

A mix of evergreens (e.g.Pittisporums and Camelias) to give all-year form and climbers were planted to clothe the trellis. The colour at the end of the garden is restricted to green and white to give a peaceful feel around the memorial bench as well as to make the garden appear longer.

On the sunny side of the garden Dahlia Bishop of Llandalph was planted for prolonged colour and lavenders for scent near the entertainment area. Underplanting with spring bulbs gives early colour.

At night the garden lights pickout the three Betula Jackmontii with their silver trunks.

Perspective watercolour of proposed solution.

The Finished Garden

Finished Garden

The garden was completed on time, before Christmas, and on budget. The client is so delighted that Sean Mills + Associates have now been commissioned to design the property's front garden.