A west London walled garden: "winsome and elegant"

Rather than a dramatic revamp, the client was after a modest makeover to ensure the rear garden did not feel so dark and colourless and the front garden was tidied up. Part of the brief was that the existing structures (in particular, the boundaries/walls and paving in the rear garden) were not changed.  

The new front garden: view from the road

In keeping with the brief, we made several modifications to the rear garden.  

First, we  increased the space for plants by widening the pre-existing brick planter.  It was a meagre 60cm: we widened it to over a metre, to allow for more generous planting to thrive.  These was also an increase in height to give the planting more prominence. 

Second, we added structure and depth via the use of further planters.  For instance, there was a platform linking the basement to the ground floor, which was rarely - if ever - used: this open space was stark and bare.  

After: new planters along platform

Before: the platform

We wanted to spruce up the area by adding colour via planting, so we built wooden planters which were fixed along the platform and by the basement.  These too were painted to match the newly-painted rendered wall

Once built, the planters were filled with chives and Liriope muscari: swards of colour softening the edge of the terrace and breaking up the lines.

We also three used potted camelias on the south side of the garden to give vertical structure.  Over time we expect these to fill out, providing a lush backdrop.  Apart from increasing planting space, we livened up the area with a lick of paint to give a pleasant contrast of colour to the planting.

Before: view of wall

And after

We also introduced a storage area (with space for shelving) for the client to keep her tools.  This is conveniently stationed in the corner of the garden, under the climbers.

Before: clutter with no where to hide away those bits and pieces

After: new storage area for the gardening tools and spare furniture

The planting was carefully chosen to provide year-round interest, using plants that fare well in partial shade.  These are mainly herbaceous perennials and bulbs, so the client will have to keep an eye on these and keep up the gardening otherwise everything might run amok!  But we have provided a maintenance guide to give some helping pointers.   And an irrigation system is in place to stop everything from drying out when no one is around to tend for the flowers.

Before: view towards basement

After: view towards basement

The colour scheme is mainly cool: lots of blues, lilacs, whites and purples.  The spring months see beautiful Helleborus niger (Christmas rose) along with Galanthus nivalis (snowdrops).  Bright dashes of pink come from Cyclamen coum, which is underplanted throughout and can especially be enjoyed under the camelias.  Early summer sees the first foxgloves and blue geraniums, followed by the pinks of Echinacea purpurea and glorious flowers of the paeony.  By mid summer to late summer, the bright blue asters and delicate nodding heads of the Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ should be in full bloom.  By autumn, the garden is awash with the blue flowers of Liriope muscari and pinks of Cyclamen hederifolium.

Before: north/east border before it was raised

After: north.east border with new planting

Structure is provided in the garden by the (existing) agapanthus and swards of irises (echoed in the straps of Liriope muscari).  Alchemilla mollis is also used to break up the scheme – its bright lime foliage drawing the eye around the garden.

This is a pretty garden to be enjoyed and definitely a space to get stuck in and do some weeding and deadheading!  But more importantly this is a delightful space to enjoy a summer’s evening with friends.

Meanwhile, the front garden was tidied and repaved with blue limestone and basalt pavers.  These look lovely dry and fantastic when it rains: a really elegant front entrance!  To finish it off, the front wall was partially rebuilt and capped with limestone to match the paving.  The existing planting (agapanthus) in the raised planter was repeated along the front of the wall. And lovely Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican fleabane) was planted underneath to soften the lines.

Before: front garden

After: front garden