"We first renovated our home in 2009 and, thinking garden design was simple, decided we could plan it ourselves. We were so wrong and ended up with a space that was boring, very badly designed and it looked tired very quickly. 15 years later and we knew we wanted to address this, but we had no idea where or how to start. A good friend introduced us to Nick and Doug and we cannot overstate how grateful we are.
Dealing with Nick and Doug was (and remains) a delight. We weren’t sure how it would all work or what was possible, but having looked at the space, they encouraged us to describe the kinds of things that make us feel good, how we wanted to use the space, colours that we liked (and don’t like) and so on.
We wanted a sociable space, a focal point and something that looks wonderful during the daytime and at night – lighting was important. There were also a couple of things we wanted to screen. However, we had no idea if this was achievable. They reassured us that it was and, before long, we met again to discuss plans they had drawn up, how the garden would flow, how ugly items (a barbecue) could be tucked away and, although we hadn’t specified this, they felt (rightly) that low maintenance would be important to us. We were blown away by their plans and struggled to believe our garden could look like that.
Having agreed plants (very little input from us – they had listened and clearly understood our preferences), we then agreed a start date for the build. The whole process of design to site clearance, to landscaping, lighting and planting was just so easy and stress free (and on budget).
We love our new garden and much to our surprise, it looks even better than it did on the plans. It brings the outside into our house and feels like a natural (and, we think, beautiful) extension of the living space. We have thanked them several times and we are happy to do so again - we really can’t recommend them highly enough and are so happy that they were recommended to us." - Richard & Julie, SW4
This contemporary courtyard garden in Clapham, South West London, was a joy to work on from start to finish. Our super enthusiastic clients were eager to spend as much time as possible in their new garden, following the spectacular remodelling of their home.
Being at the end of a terrace, the garden felt somewhat exposed, especially from the right hand boundary. Also, the brick wall of the rear neighbour’s property needed to feel less dominating when viewed from the house. The first issue was solved by planting evergreen pleached trees along the boundary, and the second, by distracting the eye away from the wall and planting 4 mature evergreen Magnolia grandifolia ‘Little Gem’ trees in a raised bed that runs the entire width of the garden.
The image above was taken just as the sun was setting. The rendered wall behind the trees is painted dark grey to act as a great backdrop to the plants, as well as being a perfect canvas for the shaft of light that casts gorgeous shadows from the tree’s branches. There is also another reason to use a dark colour on a boundary – it highlights the foliage in the day and makes the boundary to appear to almost disappear at night.
The seating area is actually slightly lower than the rest of the garden to further enhance a feeling of privacy, and the large retractable parasol adds further flexibility to the space.
For this garden, we chose a number of landscaping materials that as well as relating to the home’s interior, also added further interest and texture, as seen in the image below.
Large porcelain tiles were chosen for the main terrace leading off from the kitchen diner. As well as being low maintenance, the lighter colour bounces the light all around the space, something that is especially welcome during the darker winter months. In the seating area, we used clay pavers in a herringbone pattern to define this space and to create a subtle contrast.
The Corten steel raised bed gives a more industrial feel, as well as introducing another interesting texture. This also ties in with the planter used for the cloud pruned tree that sits atop a bed of Scottish granite cobbles.
The planting palette for this garden needed to reflect the aspect of the garden. The rear and right hand side borders only get a few hours of sunlight a day in summer, whereas the left hand side of the garden, where the seating area is located, enjoys a sunnier aspect. As well as the evergreen structure given by the trees, we also used evergreen shrubs and ferns to further create interest during the winter months.
And now, the garden goes from daytime…
to nighttime …..
And so, night falls and on a late summer evening, the interior and exterior of this stunning home are as one. The clients wanted a well-proportioned terrace (above) near to the kitchen diner so they could use the space for parties when the doors are pushed back, or even to move the dining table outside for a dinner party under the stars.
The soft lighting in the borders highlights the plants and trees, casting shadows on the walls, and the concealed lighting mounted under the bullnose steps casts a warm wash over the clay pavers.
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