Sometimes clients know just what they want or don’t want, but sometimes they are looking for inspiration as to how to use a particular space in order to create a certain feel or mood or to be most practical. In this case, our busy clients did not want a lawn to maintain, but were keen to have a pergola of some sort for shade, a built-in BBQ and a green house and shed. They wanted to go for a modern and contemporary design to echo the new build properties in the area, using materials such as cotswold chippings and limestone cobbles with a mixture of paving, gravel and planting areas. They also wanted the planting to be wildlife friendly, to include a good mix of structures, a diversity of plants and plenty of flowers around the seasons for pollinating insects.
The approach we typically take is an initial visit to survey and measure up, then we draw that up and develop ideas to provide a design and 3D views for review with the client, along with some budgeting guidelines. Once discussed and agreed, we would then detail the construction and after that, detail the planting.
For this project, we felt it was important to have structure which could provide shade and also to break up the outline of the neighbouring properties, something that works in 3 dimensions, not just a flat pattern on the ground, but creating height through planting and structure.
Our pergola design provides not only the feel of an outdoor room, but also some structure to a garden space that was a blank canvas. It also affords shade and some welcome screening from neighbouring properties. The pergola was constructed on site and installed, the client choosing to paint it themselves in a contemporary black barn paint.
This was designed to be built in and to echo the other materials whilst providing a practical yet modern feel – see gallery. Weatherboard was painted to match the pergola and the stainless steel worktop was specially manufactured by a local company, Best Ironwork.
This was constructed in our workshop from oak and transported to site and situated by the water bowl, perfect for admiring the rest of the garden.
In this thoughtfully designed planting plan, every element was carefully chosen to compliment and enhance the space. Elegant blocks of Taxus baccata were strategically placed to delineate distinct areas in the garden, offering year round structure and anchoring the design. Further evergreen shrubs were softened with herbaceous perennials such as Salvias, Peonies and Erigeron, whilst vertical spaces were covered with Clematis and Roses from How Green Nursery. Adding the final layer of planting were some specimen trees: an Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’, a Cornus kousa chinensis, a Prunus serrula tibetica and a Sorbus vilmorinii, each providing distinctive forms and textures to the finished garden.
