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Aimed at echoing architectural elements already established in the garden as well as creating a space sympathetic to local London wildlife, this unique garden landscaping effortlessly blends all considerations creating a peaceful yet practical mixed use space.
This garden had very practical motivations at heart, but also aimed to raise the bar with the aesthetics. The Covid pandemic resulted in increased home working and a large studio was built at the end of the garden. The modern office looked out of place, surrounded by bland space that needed a contemporary garden design to uplift it.
On top of this, there was no path between the house and garden office, meaning that wet weather created a quagmire underfoot. The challenge therefore was creating a garden design that was contemporary enough to suit the office as well as allowing the clients to traverse between house and office without abruptly cutting the garden in half.
The desire line (in this instance a straight line from the back door of the house to the garden office) represents the axis around which the design hangs. Stray too far from the desire line and it frustrates the traveller. This means either the path gets ignored and the lawn gets worn to a muddy track, or the traveller silently curses the designer each time they have to make an unwelcome number of unnecessary footsteps!
The focal point of this contemporary garden design is an offset crossroad intersection within the pathways, forming a miniature planting bed at the centre. Each path radiating from the crossroads leads to a significant area, lending the design clarity of purpose.
We were delighted with the work done by Duncan and his team in landscaping our back garden. The project was to landscape around a home office that we had recently had installed incorporating various elements into the design such as a path and a pond. Duncan was very responsive in quickly coming up with a sensible design, which was then implemented to the highest standards and with great attention to detail. I cannot exaggerate how pleased we were with the final result: it blended in the home office, incorporated all the elements we required, and at the same time enhanced the sense of space within the garden.— Duncan & Jane, Clapton E5
For all the clever geometrics, this is not just a garden of the head, it also has a big heart. When the family first moved into the house many years ago, the children were young and an old pond was filled in for safety reasons. Despite this, generations of frogs without fail came to visit year after year, always hopeful of a welcoming habitat. It was therefore important for the clients to reinstate this old haunt.
The pond was included in this unique landscaping design by integrating it as a fringe to one quadrant of the offset crossroads. Lit from the deck above, the pond now attracts wildlife all year round and has become a safe haven for frogs and many more species.
The water feature is presided over by a statuesque Dicksonia Antarctica tree fern which establishes the pond as a distinct zone within the garden through the introduction of focussed vertical interest. The water is fringed with marginals such as water forget-me-nots myosotis scorpiodes and blue flag iris, to promote natural filtration and suitable habitat for pondlife.
Since the reinstatement of the pond, the clients have commented on a new sense of tranquillity as they take front row seats witnessing the buzz of nature from their garden office, perfectly framed in the context of this contemporary garden design.
I cannot exaggerate how pleased we were with the final result: it blended in the home office, incorporated all the elements we required, and at the same time enhanced the sense of space within the garden. Duncan & Jane, Clapton E5
