The Brief

Front Garden:  To redesign the front garden as a smart and welcoming place.  The aim was to retain the Victorian aesthetic of the house and street whist updating the space to provide contemporary yet sympathetic bike and bin storage.

Back Garden:  To design a back garden that is both stylish and robust, both private and practical.  The layout needed to accommodate playing children, their toys and their parents.

Careful consideration was needed to ensure the balance between light and privacy:  on the one hand to make the most of as much natural light as possible around the existing mature trees, whilst on the other, maintaining privacy from the boundaries.  The raised patio was redesigned to offer flexible seating for the family and maximise space in the sun.  Stretcher bond clay pavers on the terrace and raised beds reflect the Victorian brickwork, while a beautiful bespoke cedar wood bench provides fixed seating.  Added to this are two stylish armchairs; modern yet with clear Victorian echoes, these provide adaptable, relaxed seating.  Behind this, a second smaller raised patio accommodates the family barbecue.

Views from the house, in particular from the large, glazed kitchen doors that run along the back of the house, informed the coherent planting design: capturing the morning light and providing year-round interest. Three striking Eriobotrya serve as a stunning evergreen backdrop to the patio, whilst raised beds are brimming with delicate herbaceous beauties such as Tirarella, Gilennia and Astrantia.  Carex grasses add movement and fun to the raised patio: it seemingly floats on a cloud of swaying grasses.

At the front, three elegant Eucalpytus stand proud in tall pots.  Their glaucus foliage is picked up in the paintwork on the bike and bins stores, while Sedum and Erigeron provide a delicate airy finish in planters on the roofs.