Client brief:
A new-build development site is typically a blank canvas of a garden with nothing more than soil and timber fencing. My clients are experienced gardeners and they know what they want for their garden. A circular lawn was already a ‘must have’ as they had seen some of my previous designs include a circular lawn. This design layout is perfect for a corner plot because it pulls the focus into the space. In such an over-looked garden, creating privacy is essential and that’s why we hand-picked several species of ornamental trees.
We jokingly came to refer to this exposed new build site in the village of Langford as “Windy Beds”. This south-facing garden desperately needed shade, so we created some by positioning a much-loved garden bench beneath the branches of a silver birch. There is nothing lovelier than sitting beneath dappled shade on a summer’s day.
New builds often have nothing more than a few cm of topsoil and buff-coloured concrete pavers around the house. So we couldn’t wait to see the back of them and with our client’s approval, Phil installed beautiful porcelain paving. The garden is completely transformed.
A replacement lawn framed with blue engineering bricks defines the stand-out shape, as the planting around the lawn grows it will soften. A break-away grassy border created within the porcelain paving adds a lovely light interruption of view from the living room windows. Clients tell us they love their transformed garden.
Ornamental garden trees
Acer palmatum ‘Ôsakazuki
Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (multi-stem)
Malus toringo (multi-stem)
Sorbus commixta ‘Olympic Flame’
Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila ‘Mount Bogong’