Recently, we completed a job in Embleton near the Northumbrian coast. The house is newly built and the garden was a perfect rectangle of lawn when I went to view it.
The clients wanted a scheme which would be easy to maintain with raised beds to add interest to a fairly large paved area on which they will put a swing seat. Low walls with flat coping stones will double up as extra seating when needed. They are going to have a sun room on the house too for those days when it is a bit too cold or windy to sit outside – being in Northumberland, those slightly outnumber the times you can comfortably sit out!!
I normally think my style tends towards traditional with lots of scented shrubs and herbaceous borders. This scheme is a bit more contemporary in nature with the raised beds being formed of rendered and painted concrete blocks around the paved terrace and paths and fences painted pale grey give a light and airy feel. The client also has a love of plants, and even though I have done a planting plan for her, she will do much of the plant sourcing herself over time. I have supplied a wind-breaking line of pleached hornbeams and some shrubs and textural plants to start the ball rolling.
A trough collects water which cascades in a sheet from a wide waterfall. The textural planting on each side of the feature will fill out in time and I hope the whole area will have a lush atmosphere. I have used Fatsia, Rodgersia, Hostas, ferns and Crocosmia to add height and colour.
The finished product (minus the sun room which is to follow) shows plenty of generous beds with a path or stepping stones around the lawn for easy access. A compost bin sits in the corner so that all the precious garden and kitchen waste can go straight back into the soil in time. There is a sunken post holder for a rotary washing line and a shed painted the same colour as the fence disappears into another corner. My clients have installed an irrigation system for the dry spring weather we seem to get up here every year and there are going to be lights to highlight a few features for when the winter darkness hits. I hope it will look magical after dark viewed from the glass sun room.