Willow tree

Before: This rear garden was totally lacking structure, contained few plants and was totally dominated by a large (but lovely) willow tree and also a neighbours garage at the bottom of the garden. The clients, new to gardening but keen to learn, wanted an unfussy garden that maintained the feeling of space and the wish list included a large lawn area, space for vegetables and some fruit, somewhere to sit at the end of the garden to enjoy the evening sun, hiding the neighbours garage, brightly coloured plants and the possible inclusion of additional land to the side of the garden at a later date.

Design Solution: The design needed to be strong and in scale with the large willow tree and the lawn area was reshaped using strong curves. These were defined with a brick edge which doubles as a winter path to the vegetable and compost area. The brick work links with the existing paving by the house that could not be replaced at the time of the build but the terrace area was extended to balance the large conservatory on the rear of the house. This included a large brick step up onto the lawn which provided additional space for plants in containers. Brick and stone paths were also used to define the vegetable area which incorporated old brick walls and which when grown will be sheltered by a beech hedge. A dark and dingy area at the side of the garden was opened up with a pathway from the terrace to a seating circle which could lead on to a new area of the garden in the future. Planting was generally low maintenance and included a curved screening of black bamboos to hide the garage wall and colour themed beds: pinks and silvers, yellows and whites and the more experimental dark reds, magentas and oranges.