High & Low Energy Garden
Crofton Park, London
My client really wanted somewhere to relax and her daughter really wanted somewhere to burn up some energy. Unusual items in the interesting brief for this small space were a heavy church pew, that was taking up much needed space on her patio, and a Malaysian temple, hidden amongst the undergrowth in the back of the garden. It was a small space to also fit in a veg planter, a new shed, a new swing seat and somewhere to play with her dogs, all while keeping the existing patio and some mature shrubs at the back.
As ever, the simple solutions are the best so I proposed a new climbing structure to the rear of a new lawn, with monkey bars from which both a swing seat and pull up rings are suspended. My client can now sit on the church pew, looking out over a small mixed species turf lawn (just big enough to play with the dog or to lie down!) to the neighbours’ mature shrubs. The new shed and veg planter sit on the existing patio, tucked out of the main sight lines from the house windows. On the existing patio, the dining space was repositioned to allow a clear route from the back door to the rear of the garden. Viola, wishlist met.
Enhancing this layout is a small tree, positioned to provide some shade to the dining area and also to create a great view from the picture window, as it has lovely spring blossom as well as autumn colour. A new herb bed was also cut out of the existing patio to soften it further. The planting palette is neutral, with hints of red. The wilder, woodland planting at the back under the existing shrubs is starting to spread and in time should form a lush carpet, contrasting to the grassy beds by the patio, with their sculptural white alliums, seen here as seed heads.
The front garden was also redesigned as part of this project, with permeable gravel surfacing, but not room for much planting when the bike store and bins were relocated. Nonetheless, Bes Landscapes built a lovely bin shelter with sufficiently deep planting space for me to design planting there that creates a pretty welcome home.
‘My garden had been wrecked after building work, and I wanted it to reflect the new extension. The front garden was collapsing! Now, I’ve gone from having the worst to best on the street and I get lots of compliments saying ‘I like what you’ve done’. The process was really easy as the concept Catriona presented was really clear. There was minimal back and forth as I could see what I wanted was there in the 3D images. I had set ideas about the climbing frame and shed placement and liked that Catriona put them in different places that worked better. I appreciated the site visits, that Catriona was able to work with the landscaper and that took away the decision burden and stress. Now I appreciate having something MUCH nicer to look out at from inside. I eat out here. In the morning it’s nice to come out and water, it’s a fun distracting activity. Weeding feels the same way - it gets me away from my desk and computer for 5 minutes. Also, from a sustainability point of view, nothing much got junked. There was no skip! It’s also nice to give homes to the family heirlooms. Every time I come home, I think, “It’s so pretty!’’
Julie Wood
