Sinéad Finn Landscapes

The client brief for this garden was to create a design which would radiate out from the existing decked patio, that had been placed directly outside the house. Any concept would have to allow for the change in level that already existed on the site.

The lower area of the garden directly adjacent to the decking, was edged with setts and then filled with cream gravel. A selection of Bamboo, Salvia and Perovskia were then planted through the gravel. Railway sleepers were used as a retaining wall and were also used to create a step onto the second level.

Once on the higher level, a curved gravel pathway led to a half-moon shaped seating area against the back boundary. This area is an excellent place to get the last rays of the evening sun. Since the garden was half in light and half in shade, the planting had to facilitate this. On one side of the path, the planting was naturalistic with foliage tumbling over the edge of the path. However, the other side was more formal with box hedge edging restraining the spread of Lavenders and Agapanthus. A space was left in the middle of this bed for a vegetable garden (a specific client request). A old tree trunk on site was turned into a focal point by growing scented Honeysuckle over it. The design also allowed for the siting of a compost bin.