Contemporary Town Garden
A sloping, south-facing garden adjoined to an Edwardian red brick house situated in North-West London.
The owners of this property requested a contemporary, low-maintenance garden for eating, relaxing and entertaining to include a dining table to sit six, an outdoor cooking area and a pergola.
Ultra-modern grey porcelain was chosen for the paving, steps and raised beds for a highly unified, contemporary feel. This theme was continued with the pale grey, powder coated, steel pergola, bespoke built-in barbeque and cement Guhl chairs. The new garden design makes a feature of the sloping site with a dramatic set of super-sized steps winding up through the planting to the top level. A restricted colour palette of grey, black, silver and teak creates a sense of unity and harmony, with the cool and warm tones in perfect balance.
The areas surrounding the seating areas were densely planted to ensure total privacy. The planting consists almost entirely of evergreen shrubs together with a limited selection of evergreen herbaceous plants. The abundant greenery provides a strong foil for all the other elements in the garden and is exceptionally low-maintenance.
Paving:
Porcelain paving in Beola Bianca 596 x 596 x 20 mm
Laid on a 150 mm MOT Type 1 sub base
Bonded with Larsen Streetscape PS primer
Jointing gap 5 mm
Pointed with Ardex exterior grout in Fresh Snowdrop
Steps:
Step 1 = + 125 mm
Step 2 = + 250 mm
Step 3 = + 375 mm
Step 4 = + 500 mm
Treads in porcelain Bianca Beola 596 x 596 x 20 mm
With pencil round edge profile on long and left edge
Risers H 125 x W 1194 mm
Facing H 125, 250 and 375 x 1194 mm
Cut on site from porcelain Beola Bianca 1194 x 596 x 20 mm
Retaining Walls and Raised Bed:
Constructed on site with Masterdenz 100mm 7.3N solid dense concrete blocks W 100, L 440, H 215 mm
Rendered in Farrow and Ball exterior masonry paint in Pavilion Gray
Pergola:
Matt finish powder coated steel in RAL 7044
Overall dimensions W 4272 x D 4172 x 2400 mm
Posts 100 x 100 x 2300 mm
Cross-beams 100 x 100 x 3972 mm
Top frame 100 x 100 x 4072 mm and 100 x 100 x 3972 mm
Internal steel box sections 50 x 50 mm
Invisible fixings using steel internal brackets and counter sunk bolts
Posts set in outside corner of base plates 200 x 200 mm with flush anchor bolts. Assembled on site
Furniture:
Tanso teak round dining table W 146 x D 146 x H 73 cm
Tanso teak chair W 66 x D 55.3 x H 80.5 cm
Skagerat Virkelyst teak sofa in Ash W 142 x D 83 x H 41 cm
Skagerat St. Thomas teak side tables W 46 x D 46 x H 65 cm
Eternit fibre cement Guhl chair W 54 x L 79 x H 61 cm
Eternit fibre cement side table W 40 x L 72 x H 22 cm
Built-in Barbeque:
Aurora A540 stainless steel gas grill W 813 D 495 H 641 mm
Flush mounted stainless steel masonry drawer W 870 D 521 H 370 mm
Made to measure Quartz worktop in Compac Warm Grey
Constructed on site with Masterdenz 100mm 7.3N solid dense concrete blocks
W 100, L 440, H 215 mm
Rendered in in Farrow and Ball exterior masonry paint in Pavilion Gray
Water Feature:
PR Home cone water feature in polished black terrazzo
W 55 D 55 H 64 cm
Front Garden
A south-facing, 1950’s bungalow located in Middlesex.
The clients were looking for a new front garden that would be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The brief included a parking space for one car with access to the garage and side entrance. They were keen to add some character to the front of the house and also specifically requested cottage style planting.
The starting point for this design was the idea of a modern cottage garden surrounded on all sides by a white picket fence. The two tone grey permeable block paving was installed to comply with sustainable drainage system legislation and likewise the light grey, resin bonded gravel for the driveway. The contemporary style hard landscaping was juxtaposed with classic, cottage garden features such as the matt painted, wooden obelisks and matching wall mounted canopy over the door.
The substantially sized planting areas allow for many evergreen shrubs to be included guaranteeing year round structure and colour. These form an excellent backdrop for the drifts of herbaceous perennials, which are so strongly associated with the cottage garden style.
House Exterior:
Masonry: Sandex Ultra Smooth paint in Pure Brilliant White
Front door and windows: Sandex 10 Year Satin paint in Cloudy Day
Block Paving:
Ecogranite Aquaflow permeable block paving
In Cornish Silver Grey and Truro 200 x 100 x 560 mm
Geotextile base and S C Intergrid
10-63 mm grade, crushed angular stone, depth 250 mm
5-20 mm grade, crushed angular stone, depth 100 mm
Geotextile layer, 5mm, crushed angular stone, depth 50 mm
Block paving butt finish, 2-4 mm quartzite surface dressing
Resin Bonded Gravel:
Resin bonded gravel in Luna
Trowelled surface: gravel / polyurethane resin, depth 18 mm
Binder course: porous asphalt, depth 70mm
Sub base: MOT Type 3, depth 175 mm
Step:
Tread and riser in Sawn Silver Grey Granite
With half bullnosed edge profile on long, left and right edge
Tread 2100 x 500 x 40 mm, Riser 2100 x 130 x 40 mm
Pre-cut to size at London Stone Bespoke Centre
Bonded with Larsen Streetscape PS primer
Pointed with Larsen Natural Grey with a 5 mm pointing gap
Wall Mounted Canopy:
Made to order from planed and treated softwood, assembled on site
Overall dimensions: W 1.95 x D 0.6 x H 2m
Bottom fixed 0.4 m from ground and top 2.4 m from ground
Wall mounted posts 1850 x 100 x 100 mm
Chamfered braces 430 x 100 x 100 mm
Beams 600 x 100 x 100 mm
Rafters 600 x 100 x 50 mm
Painted in Sandex 10 Year Satin in Pure Brilliant White
Picket Fence and Gates:
Wood palisade fencing 1 m high with rounded pales
Pales 1 m x 70 mm x 19 mm, Rails 2.4 m x 87 mm x 38 mm
Corner posts rounded top 1.5 m x 100 mm x 100 mm
Intermediate posts rounded top 1.5 m x 75 mm x 100 mm
Constructed on site, 70 mm between pales
Posts fixed 0.6 m below ground with postcrete
2 left hanging palisade gates H 0.95 m x W 1 m x D 55 mm
1 bespoke left hanging gate H 0.95 m x W 0.8 m x D 55 mm
Gate posts H 1.5 m x W 91 mm x D 91 mm with fixings
All painted in Sandex 10 Year Satin in Pure Brilliant White
Obelisks:
Traditional Obelisk, polymer coated steel in Bath Stone
W 41 x D 41 x H 170 cm
Painted in Sandex 10 Year Satin in Pure Brilliant White
Gravel Garden
A south-facing, dry, gravel garden.
The purpose of this project was to produce a planting plan consisting only of plants that thrive in dry, sunny, well-drained conditions and therefore require minimal irrigation. In addition, a seating area and ample pathways were requested.
The plan is centred on the dramatic, upright plant forms and the strong contrast between these and the rounded and carpeting forms. Year round interest has been created with plants flowering in all seasons, including a large number of spring and autumn bulbs. A vibrant colour palette of magenta, purple, blue and yellow has been used throughout, giving the space a sense of unity.
The wooden bench set within the planting offers the visitor a secluded place to sit and view the display. The wide, gravel pathways are arranged in an informal, circular layout so allow for a leisurely walk around the garden to appreciate the plants from many different angles.
Plant Schedule
Catananche caerulea
Verbascum
‘Gainsborough’
Cistus x purpureus
Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
Bulb Plan
