Garden Design Project
Boothstown, Worsley
Question: what do you
do when commissioned by clients, one of whom is unfortunately suffering from a
degenerative and incurable eye disease? Hopefully this garden design answers those
questions and in doing so provides a usable and easily navigable garden space.
 |
| Garden as first viewed looking away from house |
 |
| Garden as first viewed looking back to house |
The build on this garden
design project only finished in late December 2017 what with the weather being so bad
since this was the first opportunity I have had to revisit. Although the plants
may not look like much now this garden should really take off and fill with colour
over the coming spring and summer months. Although the witch hazel is adding a
nice burst of colour just now. The bamboo screening to the rear raised bed will
be one plant that is definitely enjoying all the rain we are currently experiencing
and it should pay off with good new upright stem growth over the months to
come. This variety is particularly good for small gardens where planted into
raised beds, or into the ground level beds, as unlike many bamboos it will not
spread, run, or become invasive, as it is a well behaved clump former, Fargesia
nitida a native of Szechwan, China. Further detail here, a small area to the secondary
back door/utility room seemed wasted
garden space, but provided the perfect opportunity to create a screened storage
are thereby making best use of the space. For a seamless look I designed a seamless
screen with an inset flush door. Timbers for both the decking and screening is American
yellow pine a suitable and good alternative to hardwoods which I do not use in
my projects due to the destruction of rain-forests and wildlife habitat as a
consequence. That said, there are some fabulous new composite products coming
onto the market and one in particular which I am very excited by, more on that
in my next part 2 blog post on decking in general. The sleepers used are
constructed of European oak for longevity and patina and are from an FSC
sustainable source.
 |
| View across the recently finished garden |
 |
| Design detail inset seat and raised bed |
 |
| Handmade inset seat |
 |
| Witch hazel in flower adds some welcome colour to the winter garden |
Texture and surface is
a detail that many will take for granted or may not even be consciously aware
of where as this garden it was a significant deign consideration due to one of
the clients limited eyesight. To assist the client in navigating the space elements
are designed with clear focus of movement, texture and level to make it easy to
identity a change in either direction or material or areas hence the edging detail
is a bush hammered granite whilst the main paving is a flame hammered finish. There
is also a tonal shade difference between a pale grey stone and the charcoal edging
stone and these details and colours chosen in consultation with the client in
order to best maximise the use of her limited eyesight. Equally the garden was
designed to create one uniform level running from the French doors of the house
to the lawn and rear paved terrace area. The small terrace area and inset seat
to the raised bed are positioned to take advantage of the late afternoon and
evening sunshine. Planting is a combination of strongly textured and scented
silvers grey and purples, again to make the most of a heighted sense of smell.
 |
| Design detail granite paving: flame hammered grey paving and bush hammered black edging details. |
 |
| Design detail screed area for garden storage |
 |
| Design detail inset flush gate and screen. |
I will update the blog
post in this garden later in the spring early summer when the plants should
have started to fill out and add to the colours and textures of this garden.
 |
| One of two adorable chocolate brown Labradors clients pets. |
This project hopefully demonstrates that a small garden in a new build house does not have to be limited as well as what can be achieved
with some careful design and a good choices of material and plants.
All pictures and content and designs are the copyrighted property of David Keegan © 2018
