The aspect is very important for a thin section of a garden. Like Pat Oliver I too would ask whether or not you use the gravel section for parking a car and agree that you also need to think about how it joins the rest of the garden. I understand that you get the sun in this area late afternoon/early evening and is a "sun trap". If you want to add some shelter you could add a pergola along a section of the site and grow some evergreen climbers, scented roses, jasmine and clematis. You could then add some seating or a dining set under the pergola for a late night meal with friends. If you plan to keep the paving slabs then think about furniture and pots that are of a similar tone to tie the area together and then use some white ones as accents to tie the area again to the house. If you remove the slabs then a gravel garden is a great idea, but you could also use composite decking boards and raise the area so that you come out of the door at the same level, and then have some steps down to the rest of the garden. Also think about setting the garden at an angle across the site, as this helps from a design point of view and results in you getting more items in to the area. Draw the area on to a piece of paper and have fun with shapes. If it is such a sun trap think about sun loving plants that are suited to arid conditions, that is why a gravel garden is such a good idea. I hope this helps. If you have any questions please get in touch. All the best and enjoy your garden. Mark

Hello, We would love to feature your project on our website as part of our customer projects. You can see some examples here - http://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/pages/news/customer_projects.aspx  We usually include a few paragraphs on the background of the project and design ideas, as well as a selection of photos. I hope this is something you are interested in and I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks, Sam

Hi Vanessa, I have written a few blogs with advice about planting for pollinators on my web-site ,Greenwave Design. The main thing would be to reduce the size of your lawn, which is not a very wildlife friendly feature, and put in more trees, shrubs and perennial plants. Wildlife need places to live as well as food so lots of places to shelter in the garden will be helpful. Pollinators want flowers that they can sip nectar from for as long a period as possible. So flowers need to start early, with bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus, and carry on for as long as possible. Another great wildlife friendly feature is a pond, or at the very least a birdbath. If you do put in a pond it needs to have shallow, sloping sides so that wildlife can get in and out easily. There is lots of good advice on the Wild about Gardens web-site.

These guys are in Kent and it looks as if they work all over the country although it looks like a design and build service rather than just design https://www.buildajapanesegarden.com/portfolio/ There is also this guy, the website is Spanish but it looks as if he's still London based https://www.houzz.co.uk/pro/webuser-260984/the-japanese-garden Or as Sonia said just look at local designers. I'm sure like interior designers they can adapt to any style??