Wildlife and Woodland
Client: Private
Year Completed: 2014
Size: 600 sqm
Location: Woking
This garden is wider than it is long and is overlooked by the flank of a neighbouring house.
It also faces north-west and the clients wanted a sunny space to dine and entertain. A large part of the garden was wasted with impenetrable bushes and large trees and this created a big opportunity for the design.
The new design took the interest widthwise along the longest dimension by opening up the woodland area so that the main garden naturally blended into it.
A contemporary stone clad wall curved across the garden around the new sunny terrace. The changed focus of the garden and creative screen negated the impact of the neighbouring building so the garden no longer felt overlooked.
The clients were keen to encourage wildlife but wanted the garden to be smart and contemporary and to provide an oasis for people too.
A water bowl with beautiful sculpted lead spout created the gentle sound of running water close to the house and terrace. A secondary seating area faces east to enjoy morning coffee and the long views along the garden. A smart side terrace, woodland walk, sculpted ‘bug hotels’ and a carefully concealed shed and utility area completed the new garden.
Before & After
Design
We first met Selina while visiting a beautiful garden for the annual ‘National Garden Scheme Open Day’ and decided there and then to invite her to look at our rather bland garden. She took into account the orientation of the garden, the best places for seating areas, and types of trees and plants that would suit our soil. A lovely watercolour painted plan was produced to show what the final garden would look like, which incorporated our own ideas too. A selection of landscape building teams she has worked with was offered to us, and we chose a wonderful team of friendly, hardworking and professional builders who did excavations, drainage, ornamental wall building, top soiling and planting to achieve a truly beautiful garden. We now open it to the public at our annual village open day in June, much to the delight of our visitors. Throughout the process, Selina kept us up to date on progress, budget and any slight alterations to the plans, all of which we had the final say on. She provided us with an electrician to give stunning night lights throughout the garden, an artist to do some wood sculpting and a metal worker to make a bespoke water spout for the water feature. All of our plants thrived, making it look like a well established garden with its first year. We would highly recommend Designs for All Seasons to anyone who wishes to improve their garden, whatever the size, as Selina and her team have truly transformed ours from a blank canvas into a masterpiece!