Small City Garden Ideas Award

We were delighted to have been shortlisted for  a Pro Landscaper award with this project.  Our focus is to give ideas for what is possible in a small city garden space.

The garden Before

The property is in central Oxford, where space is at a premium. The clients have three children, the youngest at 7 being the one most likely to use the space for play. The adults wanted to use the garden as a relaxing place to sit, they  also wanted space for a table big enough for all the family to eat in the garden.

Our clients had just moved into the house and  were planning to have a garden building of some sort installed prior to the garden being constructed. Their style is very informal and they didn’t want anything very contemporary, although they imagined that the building would be contemporary so the brief was to create a garden that merged the two spaces without it being too ‘classical’ in style. A modern cottage garden best describes the garden they envisaged.

Caroline liked the ‘over-grownness’ of the walls, which were covered with ivy and a jasmine – very attractive to  pollinators which was important factor in the planting design. They wanted to keep some of the existing herbs for the same reason. They wanted some sort of pergola/arbour construction which could  have things grown up it but which could also have some sort of swing for the children. They very much like cottage planting, spring bulbs, and herbs and  wanted some sort of water feature for the soothing sound of water and ideally for fish.

Our lead designer, Jamie did a garden consultation with Caroline and Adam to brainstorm the ideas and decide on a plan for the garden. Our garden design consultation service the perfect package if you simply want to make a few changes (for example to planting) without having a complete new garden. It includes help and best support in making all the key decisions without having a full formal plan drawn up. It’s also perfect for a small garden, such as this one.

Small City Garden Plans

The Garden After

As a company, the whole team pull together to give the most important people, our clients, beautiful gardens, made to last the test of time. In this case, our clients wanted a ‘wow’ factor garden, this is particularly important when space is at a premium and the whole back of the property overlook the area.

A small garden has to work hard to achieve a lot in limited space – a walk to the office, a play area, a place to relax, a dining area as well as space to store five bikes was a challenge in a 10x5m garden!

We are proud that this is what we achieved and humbled to read the difference it has made to our client’s lives.

This garden has been built to last using good quality, locally sourced materials such as untreated oak. The pergola has been finished to a very high standard, the way George has cut into the wood is true craftsmanship. The pool has been built to last, we took specialist advice on how to achieve this without it having to be repaired in a year or two. In consequence it has been built to  the same specifications as a swimming pool with re-cycled water. The pavers are sub compliant enabling water to run off the spot allowing for drainage.

However, the true test of the finish is people’s reaction to the garden, it is invariably to say ‘wow!’