William Grange Entertaining Garden

The brief

To create an informal lower maintenance garden with plenty of planting that offers privacy and areas to entice you into the garden. The garden should retain an open feeling, whilst offering sheltered areas for planting sensitive to the wind (in particular the Acer). The garden should offer visual appeal year-round from the house, especially from the kitchen/family room.

Problems to overcome

The garden was a new build, so a blank canvas on a windy site that was overlooked

The space

A medium sized garden in a new build development

The design solution

We created a garden with different areas for relaxing and entertaining that can be enjoyed at various times of day. Rich planting brings the garden to life and entices you in as well as wildlife.

A large patio for entertaining connects the family room to the garden via a deep platform, which can also be used as seating with the addition of a few cushions. The light-coloured paving mirrors the colour of the house.

Walking from the patio, an informal gravel path, broken up with contemporary linear paving, softened by planting, leads you away from the house past a bespoke water feature. Beyond, deep deck steps, which also offer an informal place to sit, take you up towards the pergola, creating a sheltered, relaxing spot to enjoy the evening sun and an alternative view of the garden.

A deep lawn with a bench offers a place to relax of an afternoon whilst others play/ sit on the lawn.

Trees with a light canopy have been introduced around the garden to increase screening from neighbouring properties and add interest throughout the year.