Family Garden, Newington

This was definitely a garden of two halves!  The house was newly built and the whole garden was laid to lawn, with a small paved area outside the patio doors.  While the area closest to the house was nice and level, the part nearest the end was on a slope and the clients believed that this would be fairly unusable space. 

In the main part of the garden, we created a tranquil space for the clients to relax and entertain – immediately outside the house a large dining terrace is flanked by two raised planters to help soften the space and provide some privacy.  The smaller of these planters has a floating timber bench along the front, providing informal seating.  Across the lawn, a further L-shaped planter envelopes a smaller patio where the clients can enjoy the sun.  Planted borders along the side boundaries of the garden soften the fenceline and will allow the garden to blend in with the surrounding landscape as the plants mature.

The slope has been transformed into a children’s play area:  accessed by a set of timber steps, the space includes a slide and climbing wall to make the most of the slope, as well as a large playhouse and mud kitchen.  Planting obscures the view of the play equipment from the main garden area above.

In the main garden the plants are a mix of shrubs, grasses and perennials in shades of green and white to create a cool, calming feel.  In the kids’ space the planting is brightly coloured with a variety of textures and frothy perennials for children to explore and enjoy.  Plants from the main garden beds, such as Echinacea and Astrantia, are repeated in different, more colourful varieties in the play area to link the two parts of the garden together.

Photos by Claire Cox Photography