South Croydon

This project began several years ago. At that time, screening and privacy were top of my clients’ brief for the garden. The extension built next door had seen the levels dramatically change, and with the steep slope of the road, the neighbours could now be clearly seen using their garden. The fence that had been erected to help the issue was less than ideal and so talks began overusing planting to screen this boundary.

I was keen to not only give my clients’ their privacy back but also to disguise the multitude of different fence materials. Before the planting scheme was discussed, a large brick retaining wall was built. This gave a level raised bed area with lots of additional organic matter, the ideal start for the new plants.

Semi mature pleached copper beech trees were chosen as the screening plant. These were sizeable species at 20-25cm girth, that needed our machinery to lift them into place. They were selected for their beautiful crimson leaf that would be held over winter even after the foliage had died back, only to be pushed off by new foliage in spring. Even as a deciduous plant they make an excellent year-round screen.

The boundary was in deep shade for the whole day. This led to the scheme being comprised of Pyracantha and osmanthus shrubs, along with euphorbia robbiae and other herbaceous species, all happy in the shady conditions. The tops of the copper beech could sit happily sunbathing above the fence line. The new boundary was a great success and kickstarted plans to build more to make the garden more functional.

A large rear extension meant garden plans halted for a year or so, but included more yellow London stocks, tying the raised bed in nicely with the back of the house. Once the extension was complete, drawing work could begin to help my clients envisage the potential opportunities.

We needed good access to the two sets of back doors, and a large enough seating area to entertain and dine alfresco, along with new beds, hedging along the right-hand boundary and a lawn that was level and healthy to look in keeping with the elegant and traditional design.

My client had sourced natural sawn Yorkstone windowsills, which would be used again for the paved surfaces and steps. This beautiful stone was made bespoke for the project, bullnose including the grand bullnose steps.

The lawn posed a challenge with its varying levels, but it also gifted us the opportunity to continue the grand theme, with black powder coated edging forming turf steps up onto the upper lawn area. Portuguese laurel hedging at 6 ft prevented my clients having the same overlooking effect on their neighbour and the dark evergreen premium leaf fitted effortlessly with the rest of the design.

The final element of the garden was to dismantle the dilapidated summerhouse and re-turf this area. We decided to replace this with a new shed to house mowing and gardening equipment that was neatly concealed in the far-left corner behind existing greenery.

Certainly, one of our most elegant design and build projects to date!