Case Study: Large Family Garden Design

The owners of this Edwardian house in Oxted were about to embark on a large extension to the back and side of their house, when I was appointed to deliver the Garden Design.

THE BRIEF

To create a patio at the back for entertaining with a view from the new Crittal French doors, more colourful planting and consideration of play for two small boys, including a tree house in the apple tree and a large lawn.

DESIGN & PROCESS

The original garden had a good quality (non-mortared) limestone patio and courtyard so I recommended that on starting the extension the builders lift and store this stone. We then reused this for the new patio, saving money and the planet!

The clients and their neighbours, to the left required more privacy, so a cedar baton screen was erected in front of the existing fence to increase the height. With a full length colourful mixed border running adjacent, mostly perennials and bulbs which we added to the existing shrubs.

The garden was west facing so the kitchen doors and patio needed shading, after much discussion the clients went with a high-quality retractable awning, which is effective for blocking the sunlight before it hits the windows, thus avoiding solar gain indoors.

The apple tree was a perfect goblet shape allowing us to the create a platform treehouse and we located the climbing frame close by so when the children are older we can add a rope bridge between to two.

The brief also included a spot for a fire-pit so we added an additional seating area nearer the play zone, using gravel. And a cedar baton screen was added at the end of the garden to hide the shed and unify the space.

Finally, we built a large but simple external prep space for barbecuing and a log storage.

TESTIMONIAL

“Carole transformed our garden from a literal building site following our extension build. She took time to understand our needs, and created space for each member of the family to enjoy, our 5 year old is particularly delighted with his new treehouse. The planting has been great and it has been a real delight this spring/summer to see what is going to pop up next.”