The Brief
A couple with a young family wanted to make some changes to parts of their rear garden. The existing garden had a large grassed area, a triangular raised bed in one corner and a neglected patio area. The client’s wish-list included:
- a patio with a contemporary feel so they could start using their existing outdoor lounge furniture
- an all-weather play area because kids get messy playing on real grass when it’s rained
- disguise or hide away the existing shed and create an utility area to store bicycles, the barbecue etc.
They’d approached other landscape companies without success, they couldn’t seem to find anyone who could come up with some different ideas. Enter Gordon Hamilton, the owner of Bespoke Landscapes, who came up with an imaginative design which ticked the boxes but didn’t blow the budget.
What we did
Hide the shed
The starting point was the shed and utility area. By building feather-edge fencing which matched the existing perimeter fencing, the shed magically disappeared. A nice design feature was to use concrete blocking and Dry Stack Veneer walling for the base of the fencing instead of the usual grey, concrete base panel.
Create a patio with a contemporary feel
Marshalls Symphony Vitrified paving DARK was used to create a generously sized patio accessible from the kitchen and conservatory. An oasis of calm, where the clients can relax and maybe enjoy an alcoholic beverage.
Create an all-weather play area
Alongside is the children’s play area which combines Grono Artificial Grass and Marshalls Symphony Vitrified paving DARK. The artificial grass area is great for softer landings from the slide whilst the paved area is perfect for zooming around on trikes or scooters.
To soften the hard landscaping alongside the children’s play area, a raised bed was constructed and faced with Marshalls Stoneface Dry Stack Veneer walling (harvest mix quartzite) Another island bed using the same materials divides the artificial and real turf creating the illusion of separate rooms within the garden. The existing and new raised beds were then planted with a range of complementary evergreen plants.
The finishing touch is recessed LED lighting in selected pavers and LED uplighters in the raised beds. The lighting is installed with a dusk to dawn sensor which means automatic ambience every evening when the sun goes down.
