Modern Detached House on a hill in Epsom
Designing for a traditional detached house garden
This is a fairly big garden of a traditional 1930s detached house in Ewell. The Clients had had a large patio constructed adjacent to the house, but the rest of the garden had been neglected for a number of years and resembled an urban jungle.
Tree surgeons were needed to remove a couple of old diseased chestnut trees along with a number of smaller self-seeded ash and holly. After these had been taken out there wasn’t much worth keeping apart from a really nice big bay tree in the back corner and a few half-decent shrubs.
We also found an old shed hidden away at the back of the garden which was only standing due to the ivy holding it up.
Once it was all cleared the garden looked massive and the design could be anything they wanted.
Meeting the client’s brief
The brief was clear but open ended – give us a nice garden!
The only things they said they wanted were a summer house at the far end of the garden where the afternoon and evening sun shone and something to give privacy from the house behind now the jungle had been removed. They weren’t sure if they wanted straight lines or curves, or where they would like everything so I prepared various options including ones with straight lines and curves, with different shape beds and lawn to give them an idea of how differently the space could be used.
They settled on a sweeping curved option, giving them deep beds and a large lawn with a pergola and small patio adjacent to the summer house.
Garden Construction and Design
Once we’d agreed the principles of the design, it flowed really easily.
They sourced a lovely summer house that sat perfectly at the end of the garden as great focal point. Pleached hornbeams were planted behind it along the back fence to give them the privacy they were after.
They didn’t feel they needed a path and would be happy to walk across the lawn to the bottom of the garden. The landscapers built a bespoke pergola in oak over a small patio, where the Clients could sit with a glass of something chilled and enjoy the end of the day’s suns’ rays. They didn’t want anything else in the garden apart from plants and the lawn, so the rest of design was all about selecting the right plants to give them the year-round interest that all Clients want.
I managed to find room for three trees of a more suitable type and size and covered the fences with an assortment of climbers including jasmine, honeysuckle and climbing roses. The rest of the planting was a mix of shrubs, perennials, ferns and grasses, which produce an abundance of colour throughout the summer, whilst also retaining some interest during the winter months.
I left very happy Clients with a transformed garden full of plants, which was exactly what they wanted.