‘Working with Freddy has been a real pleasure from first meeting to finished project. The combination of his artistic flair and design ability fulfilled the brief perfectly: a low maintenance garden with plenty of entertainment space with great ambience.’ Jayne George

We were commissioned to design a contemporary, low maintenance, extensive courtyard garden to the rear of the property. In addition, we were tasked with redesigning the layout of the entrance and its adjacent garden.  Formality and linear structure create elegant spaces in which to relax and socialize.  Sets of generous steps lead up into the garden.

One main, and two cross-axes converge on the main terrace.  Focal points are introduced, furnished with ornamental urns. 

Two terraces - inhabited separately, or together - are linked via paths. A reflective pool acts as a shared focal point. Though low, planting is suggestive of garden rooms.  Strong evergreen structural elements contrast with a soft palette of plants. 

Ornamental trees create screening and seclusion without blocking views through and across spaces. 

The lush, refreshing green and white planting scheme complements the weather-boarded property and the grey tones of the steps and paths - a bespoke combination of Vande Moortel clay pavers.

Screening from the surrounding townscape is created with a combination of formal pleached Hornbeam, pruned Holm Oaks and naturalistic, but sculptural, multi-stemmed, flowering Crab Apples.  Bold, directional evergreen slabs of Yew enhance the garden’s visual depth when viewed from the house. These are punctuated by topiarized Yew domes.  This combination creates the garden’s structural motif and sets off the ornamental planting: a restrained, relaxing combination of lush greens and ethereal whites. 

At the front, we have created a secluded garden, separated from the realigned driveway by a low evergreen hedge that also leads the eye towards the main entrance.  On either side, planting accentuates this visual effect with mass plantings of ornamental grasses with blue and white seasonal accents.  Around the lawn, high-impact blocks of Roses, Hydrangeas and Agapanthus create additional screening from the driveway during summer months.  

Trees create visual layers and screening from the road. Now screened from the entrance, the lawn offers an alternative socializing space to the rear courtyard garden. A circuit around the property is created using clay pavers and resin-bound gravel.