5 minute read
Garden Transformation
Since the pandemic began, our appreciation of our outdoor spaces has surged. This issue we catch up with a remarkable transformation that turned a derelict, overgrown plot on a steep slope, into a smart, tiered city garden.
PHOTOGRAPHY Kiera Williams Photography
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Lanterns (on table, deck and fencing) all lights4fun.co.uk
The garden is terraced with gabions
Before Do you have grand transformation plans for your garden but don’t know where to start? We caught up with the owners of this amazing redesign, couple
Daniel and Katherine, and found out their motivations for the change and how they went about the transformation on a budget.
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE GARDEN BEFORE AND WHY YOU DECIDED TO TAKE ON THE PROJECT...
Like many people, we were desperate for some outside space - our flat had a small courtyard but we wanted somewhere we could relax and be quiet and also be able to invite friends round to socialise.
The plot is actually an old piece of scrub land that backs onto the building's communal area. The whole site measures around 10m x 10m, and it's on a steep
slope. It came up for sale from a previous owner. Despite the state it was in, we snapped it up, knowing we could make something special.
THE BEFORE PHOTO SHOWS THE LEVEL OF WORK NEEDED - WHERE DID YOU EVEN START?
We realised early on we would need professionals in - not only was the site overgrown and steeply sloping, it had a strange slab of hard-standing
in the middle. We enlisted the help of a garden landscaper and devised a plan to make a sociable space with lots of room for plants but also a big deck. The layout was designed to work with the slope - which also minimised the amount of soil we'd need to remove from an inaccessible site - and to get a good balance between the hard and soft landscaping. We wanted somewhere lovely to sit and spend time but we wanted it to be nice and green too!
First things first there was a lot of clearance work - an old stump had to come out and then huge amounts of thick prickly brambles. Then it was on to a mix of excavating and filling the
various layers. The site had literally tonnes of stones in it, so it made sense for us to use gabions, the metal cages, as our retaining walls. We wanted the space to be pretty low maintenance, so the bottom section is a material called hoggin, which is a self-binding gravel (it’s mixed with cement). It creates an even, solid surface but it is also free draining, which was important as this was the lower section. It’s really good value for money too.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR PLANTING SCHEME?
We wanted this to be a good space for city creatures and insects - the planting includes lots of pollinatorfriendly plants to try and encourage them - in turn we have lots of birds coming into the garden now which is lovely. We filled the raised bed, created with sleepers, with a mix of topsoil and compost and filled it with hardy geraniums, perennial cornflowers, hylotelephium (formerly called sedums), a gorgeous Totally Tangerine geum, annual sweetpeas, alliums, salvias, foxgloves, thistles and a beautiful
cow parsley with dark stems called Ravenswing. There is also some interest for early spring with lots of daffodils, hellebores, muscari and tulips and some cheerful violas in pots too. Either side of the deck is a lawn (perfect for our dogs to play) lined with box hedging - it frames the deck and gives the garden a nice symmetry.
Alongside the borders, we really wanted a tree in the mix too - so we ordered a lovely small silver birch from primrose.co.uk - it moves in the breeze so beautifully. We can pot it on as it grows. composite decking from a company called NeoTimber - it has the natural look of wood to without the associated problems of cracking, splitting, warping etc. It also has a 25 year warranty which was perfect for us as we can make the best of it now, but if we move it also gives any future owner peace of mind.
The planting is all bee friendly
GARDEN FURNITURE
Good garden furniture is a little hard to come by at the moment, but as soon as we saw the Salone range from Moda Furnishings, we knew it was the right one. Its modern lines look perfect against the tumbled Bath stone walls and the configuration of this set was the perfect size for our space. Continuing on the low maintenance scheme, it was essential that any outdoor furniture could stand up to the elements. The frame is powered coated aluminium and comes with a 7 year guarantee whilst the cushions are what is called ‘hydrophobic’ meaning they repel water - they’re UV resistant too. Essentially this means we can leave it out all year - though we have bought a cover to protect it for when it isn’t in use.
HOW IS IT LIT?
We don’t have a direct power source up here so instead we opted for a mixture of solar options from lights4fun.co.uk - their solarpowered lights have a great output given their diminutive size! We also have some festoon lights from there - these come in connectable 5m lengths so it’s great to have options to make the right size for your space.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Like many people we'd love to get our hands on a firepit. Ideally we'd put it in the hoggin area in the bottom section with some more seating around it as that spot gets the last of the evening sun so is a great place to decamp to later in the day.
We have also left a portion of the plot unlandscaped - it's behind the bamboo screening. We hope to one day turn it into a private parking area. As and when we get to do that we'll be taking a wildlife friendly approach, as it really hasn't been difficult to make our patch wildlife friendly as well as functional and beautiful.
IMAGES
Cushions & throw: hauslife.co.uk Furniture: modafurnishings.co.uk Decking: neotimber.com Lights: lights4fun.co.uk Plants: Primrose.co.uk
