Sinéad Finn Landscapes

This was a garden with plenty of scope. A patio area directly outside the rear of the residence had already been paved. The rest of the garden however was a blank canvas, except for a stunning mature Lime tree and some Yew and Holly.

The client brief was to include a large lower patio and seating area that would be exposed to the maximum amount of sun hours during the summer months. There would need to be a clearly defined route from the house to this lower patio. Low maintenance plants were requested and an area of lawn was preferred.

The resulting design incorporated these requests. Moving down the garden from the original patio, a gravel area was placed underneath the mature Lime tree. A granite aggregate was used here and it was edged with formal box hedging. A second columnar Yew was sourced to balance the one already in the garden. Once past the gravel, a path in slate began which would ultimately lead to the lower patio area, again paved in slate, to provide a sense of unity. The path was edged with fine gravel through which large box balls were planted to continue the formal style. However, on the other side of the path some Lavender was planted to introduce a note of informality.

The lawn echoed and reinforced the shape of the main pathway, taking on an ‘L’ shape. In order to slightly increase the height of the lawn from the surrounding area, a metal edging material was used. This also has the dual purpose of maintaining the sharp edge of the lawn.

Planting, as requested, was low maintenance. It included Bamboo, Astelia, Pennisetum, Stipa, Scabiosa, Dierama and Crocosmia, as well as other herbaceous perennials that would provide interest and colour during the summer and on into the autumn and winter months.