A hidden haunt in Spitalfields

What a busy summer we have had! Andy and I have designed and built around five gardens over the last few months.  But for a variety of reasons (suppliers, builders, weather(!)) none of them are quite complete.  Nonetheless, I anticipate a glut of blog entries towards the end of the year when we can finally tidy them up and put them on show.

View towards decking

In the meantime, I thought I would share this one with you.

How it was originally

View from the back door now

I did this design for a small garden in the Spitalfields area.  Okay. Let's be honest.  This is my garden.  I did - however - do what I would normally do for a client (i.e. sat down, filled in a questionnaire, considered budget and produced a design). I even asked the fiancé what he might want.

View down the garden now

The main aim of the brief was to create more space to grow my herbs. But at the same time I wanted to have a comfortable, relaxing garden which the 'other half' might venture into from time to time.  To date, the backyard had been my exclusive domain and the fiancé had avoided it at all costs (I think because he feared being roped into weeding, or something). I really wanted to change this.  I wanted him to want to be outdoors as much as I.  Maybe not to garden, but at least to sit out there. Sometimes.

Another important goal - something which I feel strongly about - was to create a backdrop for our living room.  For many of us living in London, we often don't have as much space as we'd like.  Although it is currently in vogue to remodel the garden to be an extension of the house, I wasn't really looking to make an "extra" room, as such.  No.  What I wanted to do was to create a space which expressly drew the eye from beyond the interior of the house to the world beyond, both during the day and at night.  Too often we avoid looking out of windows - or even keep the blinds drawn - if the scene is unappealing.  The result can be unnecessarily repressive and claustrophobic.  Here, I wanted to extend the living room to the back of the garden, to make the whole house feel lighter, airier and larger, just via the view.

View from the decking area

Consequently, the design included a clean, bare screen at the end of the garden.  This had the dual purpose of (a) hiding the ugly - but extremely useful - shed; (b) providing a structured backdrop, especially because the planting was always going to be *very* unruly.  At the moment the lines are severe.  But as time goes by, I expect the edges of the screen to be softened by the ivy (in the shade) and clematis (on the sunnier side).   The screen also delineates the area of the "bench terrace".  This is an area at the end of the garden where you can go, sit on the stone bench and enjoy the peace and quiet.   Beside the bench is a water feature: a large sandstone sphere, which provides a soothing melody of water trickling gently over pebbles, meanwhile fragrant evergreen jasmine grows up alongside, and underfoot, soft gravel crunches.  This is a spot from which you can mull over your morning coffee or enjoy a glass of wine in the evening.

View of bench

Water feature

To reach the "bench terrace", blue limestone slabs step across a mass of planting. In between the stones are thyme and on either side rosemary and lavender, all of which release their scent each time you brush past.  The blue limestone echoes the colour of the bench and the setts which flank the shed.

Stepping stones through the garden

And by the house is the main terrace.  This is constructed of ipe decking which runs horizontally, slowing the view across the garden.  The decking is framed on three sides with aluminium, giving the structure a neat finish.  It also protects the wood as - intentionally - the decking is flush with the garden.  On either side of the decking is trellis - with grape vines which wind their way towards the house and more clematis.

The planting is mostly herbs. All sort of things. From red orach, to chop suey, sage, monkshood, verbena, valerians, hyssops, bronze fennel. You get the idea! It comprises largely young (grown from seed this spring) herbaceous perennials which were planted out rather late on in the summer.  I would expect the plants to bush out and reach their optimum heights next year.

Planting: email me if you want to know what any of them are!

Finally, there is lighting throughout the garden, from the down lighters on the screen, to illuminate the bench terrace, to up lighters catching some of the plants around the garden.  We have used a remote control system to manage the electrics (the ambient lighting, water feature, outside plug and lighting in the shed).  The boy loves it because it comes with an iPhone app which means everything can be fiddled with via wi-fi.

View from bench terrace to house

Suffice to say, since it has been done, the other half has been using the garden nearly (but not quite) as much as I. And I think we have improved our living space infinitesimally (that's what it feels like, anyway). Which is definitely a good thing.