Landscapes
Sometimes it's better to get everything done at once and we're happy to help you come up with and develop a full garden plan. This can include fencing, decking, paths, gravel gardens, lawns, wild flower meadows, large shrubs and trees, flowers, creating borders or raised beds, installing sheds and summerhouses or building new pergolas or bin stores. Below are a few landscapes we've done.
Brockley Front Garden
This charming customer had a rough plan/dimension sketched on paper which became the above working design. We cleared the main area, prepared foundations for gravel and a small retaining brick wall and the flower bed dug over. Then we poured a solid concrete base for a future bike shed. Metal Everedge was used to define the font flower bed. The lower wall was rendered and topped with clean looking concrete coping stones.
The path and stairs were paved in grey Indian sandstone. All the walls were painted in fresh weatherproof white paint and finally the planting was added to finish it off. A Silver Birch in the front bed alongside a range of Pittosporums provided structure and all year colour. Interwoven with Verbena and Salvia for bee-friendly flowers. The lower bed has more shade tolerant grasses and evergreens.
Closest angle to the plan
This is how the garden has evolved since we left. Lovely new bike shed and the plants are settling in well.
The garden had dated red utility brick and a weed ridden slate pit.
Closest angle to the plan
A month in and the wood is weathering slightly in the sun and rain, the tulips are alive and the grass is a lush lawn, not a seam in sight!
Simply by adding a sleek bench and jet washing and painting the concrete it turns an ugly remnant into a feature.
The lawn was half lined with rough concrete and half falling away into a rotting fence. The brick lined steps weren't practical for playtime and the space didn't feel like a complete garden.
A month in and the wood is weathering slightly in the sun and rain, the tulips are alive and the grass is a lush lawn, not a seam in sight!
Sydenham back garden
This back garden was full of hard rough concrete and brick edges, a patchy lawn with trench up to a very beaten up old fence. In short for a small space a lot of it was lost to impractical design.
The main job was removing the old fence and building a bespoke slatted fence. Double sided up to a certain height and then single sided for the top few strips. It creates an almost solid fence that still allows slits of dappled light through.
We also lowered the whole level of the lawn to make it the same height as one of the large concrete steps and then levelled, added top soil and laid a new area of turf. We've maximised every bit of lawn space for the children to use. A few tulips dug in under the lawn provide a bit of springtime fun and colour.
The finishing flurries are the bespoke gate and bench. Ultimately we've tried to find simple solutions and design choices to make the most of a small space.
Denmark Hill back garden
The clients here wanted a more interesting garden that would last. There were some simple requests - a big entertaining/bbq area by the back door, an enticing space to sit in the morning sun at the back of the garden and plenty of space for planting at a good height.
We started with a simple sketch and worked on the details with the client. Crucially we had to redesign around a man-hole cover but we were able to keep to the main shapes. The patio is laid in Autumn Brown Indian Sandstone slabs for a natural feel to the main dining area. From there we have two large raised beds with some gorgeous young plants and bulbs to come up this Spring.
To the rear is a composite deck area with a bench sunken into a C-shape bed. This is the morning area for tea and croissants or bacon sarnies. The back fence will soon be awash with sweet smelling jasmine and lush with long ornamental grasses. This is a full revamp that will keep getting better. Watch this space!
Here is the garden not even 1 year on! Proof that good gardens get better with time.
There are lots of geometric shapes at play in this garden. The idea was to make the most of sunlit space for plants. With time the planting will soften and obscure the harder the lines.
The garden before was usable but drab and uninviting, a few shrubs were stuck to the fence-line and the old deck and shed were rotting away.
Here is the garden not even 1 year on! Proof that good gardens get better with time.
Upper Sydenham side garden
This flat has an incredible garden, hidden up the stairs and round the corner is a wild wooded area. The small terrace and side path needed some work though. The first place you come out to, and with some planted beds starting to develop, it was the ground that needed work. A mud pit of an old failed lawn was not the invitation to explore the garden we wanted.
Working with the clients idea we designed a slowly and naturally breaking up patio and path of stepping stones with pebbles and plants to fill the gaps. The ground cover plants will soften the look with time and slow down the journey through the garden as you watch your step.
The bbq needed an area but didn't want to be centre of attention so we positioned it behind some raised plant pots in the shadiest area of the sideway.
​