Wandsworth

This large, period property split over several floors had been lovingly restored to its former glory by my clients throughout however there was room for improvement in the spacious garden.

As avid gardeners, my clients already had a clear vision for the garden in mind, with planting and growing ideas of their own. A substantial greenhouse was already in full use, so our first discussions were centred around a large kitchen garden with raised beds and a wildlife pond to the rear. Whilst having these discussions and looking back at the imposing house it became clear that more substantial works would be needed for this garden to do the property justice.

As my clients and I continued discussions, we included a raised terrace area to the brief. Designing the project then began. It’s period features and symmetrical layout made the design simpler, as we had a smaller palette of materials and themes to work with. We decided on something classical that befit the style of the house. A treated beige sawn sandstone seating terrace, yellow stock retaining walls bullnose steps onto a large Breedon self-bound gravel surface soon took shape.

My client was keen to have weathered corten steel as the material for the large raised beds, which worked stylishly to combine the traditional with the contemporary. The split-level design solved the issues of the garden’s changing gradient and only enhanced the design. Archways and screening gave height and detail to the designs. The pond designs were outsourced to a water specific designer.

Once the 2D drawings were signed off, we rendered these to give my clients the reassurance they needed that everything was in place before work began. With huge volumes of material to move in and out of the site, access was imperative.

The existing garden door had to have beading removed and be carefully rehung at the end of each day for us to gain access for our machinery. Even with restricted access we managed to make good progress on the pond and garden excavations.

The rear of the garden was perfectly suited to a wildlife pond, and we had a glimpse of what was to come when heavy rain gathered in the solid clay pond excavation. It was easy to see why willows and other damp loving plants had thrived in nearby surroundings.

The build included many yellow London stock bricks saved from the existing seating area. These were cleaned, stacked and recycled throughout the build as retaining walls, steps and edging. The sawn sandstone laid half bond with white pencil joints and bullnose steps added the elegance the project demanded.

The raised beds were sourced by our client and once we had the site meticulously set out, were installed to fit perfectly. They required large quantities of growing medium, specifically chosen for growing beds to thrive. One was earmarked for herbs and had a specific Mediterranean mix with added drainage applied.

The kitchen garden, and seating terraces worked seamlessly with the back of the house, the aspect and the greenhouse, combining comfortable entertaining spaces within a working garden space. The wildlife pond instantly looked at home in the shade of the large trees to the rear of the garden, with iris and other marginals and aquatic plants already beginning to thrive even before the project was complete.

Hopefully we will be able to see what our client’s had achieved with their hard work planting out if the opportunity arises for further work surrounding the property.