Family Garden in Claygate
The Brief
This family asked me primarly to design them a new drive, with parking for 2 cars, and a new patio for their rear garden. The house is a gorgeous pavillion style Victorian semi, with loads of quirky features and original woodwork on the outside.
The patio from the previous owners included a large disabled access ramp. The client wanted a large seating and BBQ area, but were unsure as to how to deal with the change in levels from the house to the lawn.
The Design
On the drive we used beautiful Chelmer Valley clay bricks for pathways, to match the warm red bricks of the house. We included dogstooth edging to the new beds under the bay windows. Classic English garden planting at the front of lavender, Rosa Getrude Jekyll, box cones and low hedging, along with Nepeta and Hydrangeas provide scent and year round interest. A hedge of purple beech a the front provides privacy, and its purple leaves are echoed by Pittosporum Tom Thumb. Golden gravel was a natural fit with the pathways for the car parking areas. The garden gate was designed especially to mirror the beautiful arch shapes in the exterior woodwork on the house.
We brought the level of the patio at the rear to be flush with the kitchen floor, to provide a seamless indoor to outdoor flow, using a smooth cream stone slab. The patio extends out for 10 metres, providing plenty of entertaining space. A set of grand, central steps leadings down to the lawn, with a generous tread on each and bullnose edge. Either side of the steps are large water tanks, full of fish and water lillies, each with a wide water spout. A brick edged gravel path runs down the side of the rectangular lawn to the play area, and planting either side of the lawn included acers, hydrangeas, box, roses and a mix of perennials.
