This small, awkward-shaped, rear garden sloped from left to right and from the house upwards to the rear boundary. As the client was about to embark on a major home renovation project, including a four-metre extension, the main requirement was to re-design the whole garden, transforming it into a green oasis of inter-connected, terraced areas enabling the entire space to be used for outdoor dining and relaxation.
The overall style is classic-contemporary featuring hard landscaping materials that complement the house, and a planting palette featuring peaceful creams and whites offset against a variety of low-maintenance evergreens that add texture and year-round structure to the garden. Screening to increase privacy, and disguise a neighbouring church hall, was paramount with shrubs and hedging used to blur the boundaries as they become established.
To exploit the change in levels a series of terraces, steps and retaining walls break up the space into discrete zones. New bi-folding doors lead directly out onto a new outdoor dining patio paved in large grey sawn sandstone pavers. From here, an extra-wide run of steps lead up to the main lawn. Across the lawn, more steps take you to a small sun terrace located at the highest point in the garden allowing the owners to enjoy the late afternoon sun while overlooking a lower lawn area with raised beds filled with plants that gently cascade over the walls further softening the cool, calm relaxing effect.