Losing the lawn in north-west London

Building work had taken its toll on this town garden leaving little more than bare earth and an old deck to work with. The client wanted somewhere to sit and entertain in the summer, and lots of planting areas with year-round
interest: working from the home office meant that she wanted an attractive view of the garden from the office window and a visually appealing walk across the garden to work.

We replaced the deck with a split level patio in Indian sandstone, creating areas for seating and also for barbecuing and eating. Two high raised beds created a screen of plants to provide a backdrop to the view from the home office, and a low beech hedge in front of the office created a symbolic division between home and work in the area.

A short row of standard olive trees provided screening from the neighbour’s garden, and thrived set against a sunny wall painted white to reflect the heat. The Mediterranean theme is continued with a fig tree, agapanthus in beds and pots and succulents in the windowboxes. Rosemary is also set against the old Victorian wall, and lavender gives a spectacular summer display in the raised beds.