Contemporary, Traditional or Cottage Garden Design?
Leicestershire Gardens Design Co.
7 years ago
Traditional
Contemporary
Cottage
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (10)
PROGreenlinesDesign Ltd
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Help me design my London garden!
Comments (14)I would agree with pannacotta and take out the blue spruce. I would then get someone in to take everything out - the shed, the pond, the narrow path, the lawn, the odd sleeper demarcation across the garden and the gravel. You will then have a clearer picture of your space. With the conifer removed there will be a large space at the far end of the garden, and it will no longer suck the water from the garden. Perhaps include some pleached hornbeam trees on the right and at the far end to make the garden feel more private, yet allow filtered light in to your garden. You have a wall at the far end, which is a great feature. It looks like the entire garden is enclosed, which is great from a safety point of view for the children. A garden building/office is a great addition, but it can become a storage place. Before buying one, really way up the pros and cons of having one. I am designing a family garden at the moment with a garden office towards the rear, but the father works from home and really needs his own space - however, it will double up as a TV room/den for the kids at night. Work out the actual size of building you actually need, rather than just putting one in to fill the space. If the orientation is correct the right hand side gets most sun. I would, as suggested put pleached hornbeam trees along the run, and have a path to one side, along this run, perhaps with a dog-leg at the far end. The path would be in the sun most of the day and would stay clearer from moss, etc. You could incorporate an off-set pergola above a section of the path perhaps positioned towards the centre of the length of the path and climb evergreen clematis or hydrangea petiolaris - this will also assist with blocking out the building behind when seated lower and closer to the house. Perhaps split the garden then in to 3 zones: zone 1 close to the house becomes a paved seating/entertaining space; zone 2 is the centre of the garden, which would be the children's turfed play area, and then zone 3 at the far end either becomes a building or a hidden seated area for grown-ups with well-designed planting around it and a pergola attached to the wall to offer privacy and shade. You could even have a long table and benches for al-fresco dining, under a canopy of sweet smelling jasmine and roses. With good lighting, this space could be an enticing area. The Edwardian/Victorian façade of the house makes me think of a family cottage garden with a contemporary twist (with veggies and cut flowers grown together). Flowering shrubs, bulbs and perennials will help to soften the walls (but remember, the walls can be a great feature in themselves). This may sound like a lot of upkeep, but with the right choice of plants you only need to spend c. 1 hour a week to keep on top of things (a little more in the winter to tidy things up (but not too tidy, i.e. leave flower seedheads and grasses for winter interest)). But remember to keep planting close to the house low with the line of sight from indoors to outdoors, so that you can keep an eye on the children. This is a great space to have. Have fun and enjoy it....See MoreGarden design dilemma help
Comments (26)The makeover commences in the morning. Rather than a complete revamp we have opted for a restoration of the status quo. The flags are to be taken up and relayed with the sunken square (formerly an eighties style brick built bbq) raised onto the same level as the surrounding patio. The wooden edging has had its day and is to be taken up, with new edging (as yet unknown) in its place. Some of the shrubs are also going - one or two of them seem to be existing much like Schrodinger's Cat - the foliage lustrous and waxy whilst the substructure of twigs dried out and brittle. It looks to my untrained eye to be dead but possibly this is due to my ignorance of all things horticultural....See MoreGarden Design Advise Needed
Comments (84)Hi Eve, Well done for taking on a design project. Always an exciting challenge and by the looks of it you've done yourself proud. I know it's a bit late in the day to give any suggestions but perhaps you could put them to one side for a rainy day? Looking at your patio layout I would suggest a slight tweak in order to have some coherence with the circular or rather flowing feel you have tried to create. Notice how in my quick scribble I've taken out the sharp corners of the paving by making a curved edge, which is easily achieved by cutting the stone to suit the site, such as natural sandstone or preferably dark material such as slate. To hide the cut edges you can install edging cobbles or blocks with small low profile led lights interspersed between the edging blocks? Please see attached scribble to see what I mean. Second thing and this is of course completely budget dependent is because you already have a lovely stark white fence you might want to consider contrasting that with a dark material for your hard landscaping such as a nice slate or dark black limestone pavers? The planting looks lovely by the way!...See MoreGarden and design help please!
Comments (18)There is no such thing as a no maintenance garden, but choosing trees and shrubs only will be less maintenance. Obviously grass will need cutting throughout the summer. I noticed through the broken fence that your neighbour has several trees and shrubs so that’s the sort of thing I mean. Some trees do become huge (50-100 ft) so make sure there are no buildings or paths nearby. Shrubs vary in size from small ones such as Hebe (about 2 ft high) to tall ones such as Viburnums which grow to about 10 ft high. Hedges such as box or privet are quite labour intensive as they do need trimming. Shrubs that are small and stay small would be a better idea - things like Euonymous, Hebe, Cistus and Lavender. The saying “Right Plant in the Right Spot” is so true. If the planting area is sunny, don’t put shade lovers there as they will shrivel up. Soil type is also important, a Rhododendron needs an acid soil and will never thrive is alkaline (chalky) soil. You can get cheap soil testers at any garden centre. I do think you can mix planting styles - I have all sorts in my garden! It looks a lovely big garden so I am rather jealous!...See More
PROPrimrose
7 years ago
PROBio Fires
7 years ago
PROLondon Stone
7 years ago
PROCrystal Woods
7 years agoThese days anything is possible and there is no reason why you can't mix traditional with contemporary or rustic with Tropical
PROPhilip Kelsey Kitchens & Interiors
7 years ago
PRODecori
7 years agohow about this for an idea of a contemporary garden?
Decori, provided the metal art work, a simple feature but creates a great focal point to the garden.
PROBathroom + Kitchen Eleven
7 years ago
PRO
Isidora Markovic