The Firs Walled Garden

The Brief

For a substantial family home, the garden we were faced with was completely impractical for what was required. A lot of gravel and York stone, of which the majority was cracked and damaged beyond repair.

The family required space to dine, cook, relax and play. The house renovation that was completed before the garden started transformed the entire back of the house, opening it up to the garden with two sets of large sliding doors.

The garden level was significantly lower the the internal floor level, so this needed to be taken in to consideration carefully when planning.

The Solution

A large lawn was reinstated central to the garden, with gravel path leading down the right hand side, bordered by a large planting border filled with hydrangea, sedums, geraniums, roses, alchemical mollie, salvia and stop, pittosporum and liguilaria.

Three set of steps lead from this area up to a large patio area laid in London stone Beige sandstone planks, and this area was zoned in to dining and relaxing. An outdoor gas fireplace features here, clad in Shou-Sugi ban charred wood and comfortable seating around the fireplace offers a cosy place to sit when the nights are drawing in.

Dining takes place on this level also, with a striking Petite Friture dining set, sat under a stunning Acer (retained from the old design) and surrounded in planting to soften the area. From here the patio steps up to a polished concrete veranda leading in to the house.

a BBQ area sits on garden level, block built and clad in cedar to match the new feature fencing. a Big Green Egg charcoal BBQ and gas version sits side by side on a polished concrete worktop.

Feature Amerlanchier trees with shady underplanting are situated against an athracite fence, run along the left hand border, punctuated by gravel strips to break up the area and provide access to the planting beds. Hidden away at the end of this area is an Easter Island sculpture set against a yew backdrop.

A modern pond was constructed towards the back of the garden, with a deck and additional seating area for morning sun worshipping/coffee breaks. Pleached trees run along the back border against the traditional brick wall and there is an area hidden away for a trampoline/climbing frame. A Cotinus tree sits in the far right corner, this was another beautiful feature we kept from the original garden.