With the ongoing publicity and interest surrounding gardens, people have begun to realise that every garden has great potential.   Designing a garden may seem unnecessary to some. They may be quite happy to just "add a little bit here and there" as they go along. The problem with this can be that the garden becomes disjointed and nothing seems to coordinate! More importantly you can make some very expensive mistakes. The best solution is to "go back to the beginning" and look at the garden as a whole. People are constantly amazed when they see a base plan of the garden for the first time- they never appreciate how much space they actually have!

During the planning stage, ideas can be discussed, features put in/taken out, even your wildest dreams put on paper! All contained within the cost of the design . Put it on paper first and make as many mistakes as you like until you finally get a plan that looks good and you know will fit in your patch.

When you are presented with the artists impression of your design you will know exactly how the garden will look once completed.This should be the encouragement you need to get going on the landscaping! Also the plan gives you a good basis for getting detailed quotations from as many contractors as you want to enable you to compare costs.

Plan A

Small flat garden with fenced boundary.

This design has a curved deck area leading out from the kitchen/diner.

The curves give a softer feel to the very angular garden. Random paving leads you to the corner pergola where the curved theme is continued by using a Roundstone feature.

Once the climbers have become established the corner will feel cosy and be an ideal spot for the evening sun. Trellis panels to the side of the deck screen the main patio area from neighbours.

By next year the planting will have matured to give a soft edge to the paving and the panel fencing.

Plan B

Large rural garden surrounding old cottage

This design has a large seating area with circular granite sett detail and old oak beams above the barbeque corner.

Stone archway leads through to conservatory.

Gravel area has small bubbling terracotta pot water feature.

Traditional cottage planting gives a soft edge to the large patio.

 

Plan C

Medium sized flat garden with fenced boundary.

The final design incorporates a large deck outside the conservatory as a main dining area.

Offsetting the deck at an angle leads the eye towards the pond and standing stone water feature. The brick detail gives added interest to the feature and the client especially loved the boardwalk continuing over the edge of the pond.

The water is pumped up to the top of the standing stone and is collected in the top pool. It then overflows into the lower pool on floor level. A smaller patio area leads out from the kitchen door for more informal dining. The water feature is in full view from inside the house and the restful sound of the water cascading into the pond can be easily heard.

Lighting will greatly enhance the garden and make it a much more useful area. The finished garden has several very different and interesting areas that all naturally flow into one another and makes the garden a wonderful place for entertaining!