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The owners of this house on the south side of Edinburgh had moved in the previous summer and hadn't used the garden at all. It consisted of nothing more than patchy grass, a large shed and a gray slabbed path. There were also drainage issues in the garden, the ground was quite boggy, the grass struggled to survive and pools of water were gathering, especially at the entrance of the shed. They wanted a place where they could dine out, entertain friends, relax and read as well as spend time looking after the plants. They enjoy simple uncluttered design & using classic materials, had asked to keep a good sized lawn and also wanted to create a more private, welcoming feel in the garden. Keen to learn more about plants, they wanted to be surrounded by a variety of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants which would add interest all year round. |
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The design centres around a natural sandstone circular patio which lies at the bottom of the stairs from the house and is large enough to hold a table that seats 6 people. A warm coloured stone was chosen to tie in with the red sandstone of the house, and it was edged with a matching sandstone sett. Adjacent to the terrace is a good sized lawn area which carries on the circular motif of the garden - its also edged with the sandstone setts, making the grass easy to mow as well as linking it visually to the rest of the garden.
There are two further sandstone sett-edged circles, containing pale coloured simple gravel - one at the entrance of the garden, somewhere to store bins and the other providing an area of hard standing at the doors of the shed. Not only are these practical areas, but they provide a textural & colour contrast to the green of the lawn and the autumn colours of the patio. The large shed was rotated and moved to the other side of the garden where any shade it casts would be minimised. It, along with all the fences, were painted dark brown to help them recede into the background. |
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For a planting scheme, the owners wanted a relatively simple colour palette - green and dark leaved, and any flowers were to be white and purple/dark reds. They were looking for year round interest, something nice to look out at even in the darkest months. |
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Height was brought into the garden via trees - one either side of the gated entrance - one a dark leaved Acer and the other an Amelanchier lamarckii, which has beautiful white blossom in spring & turns fiery red in autumn. A variety of evergreen and deciduous shrubs were planted - Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty', Physocarpus 'Diablo', Phormium 'Bronze Baby', Pieris, several small hebes and Buxus balls. Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box) provide both foliage and a strong sweet smell in the depths of winter. There were a large variety of herbaceous material used - in the shadier parts Dicentra, Lobelia cardinalis', Hellebores and hostas whilst in the sunnier beds Lavender, Salvias, Sedums, Phlox, Astrantia, Achillea, Anemone x hybrida and Verbena bonariensis. |
Bulbs were also planted to extend the planting season - Alliums, wood anemones and tulips will bring colour into the garden from early spring onwards. Lastly there are a mixture of evergreen and deciduous climbers - evergreen jasmine will bring a lovely scent mid to late summer and a choice of purple and white flowered Clematis were also used. |
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