Garden Tour: A Colourful, Calming Haven for a 1960s Bungalow
A scrappy lawn has been transformed into a beautiful, plant-filled garden providing views from every room in the house
Sarah Alcroft
8 April 2022
Houzz UK Editorial Team
This 1960s single-storey house has big windows with fabulous views of the outdoors. Unfortunately, when the owners first moved in, those views were largely of a patchy lawn and the odd overgrown bush. Luckily, garden designer Lucy Willcox had the vision to see how the space could be transformed into both a spirit-lifting space in which to relax and entertain, and a beautiful planting display that can be seen and enjoyed from indoors all year round.
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here? An interior designer and a film editor with grown-up children
Location Putney Heath, south-west London
Property A 1960s bungalow
Garden dimensions Approx 22m x 13m
Designer Lucy Willcox of Lucy Willcox Garden Design
Photos by Lucy Willcox
“There were a couple of things that needed to be considered,” Lucy says of her design. “One was the budget, two were the views out from inside the house, and three was how the garden was going to be used and would be interconnected.”
She tackled the space by designing a series of outdoor rooms, but made sure they were linked visually. “Some parts of the garden are much sunnier than others, so it was about trying to tie those areas together within the same planting scheme,” she says.
Who lives here? An interior designer and a film editor with grown-up children
Location Putney Heath, south-west London
Property A 1960s bungalow
Garden dimensions Approx 22m x 13m
Designer Lucy Willcox of Lucy Willcox Garden Design
Photos by Lucy Willcox
“There were a couple of things that needed to be considered,” Lucy says of her design. “One was the budget, two were the views out from inside the house, and three was how the garden was going to be used and would be interconnected.”
She tackled the space by designing a series of outdoor rooms, but made sure they were linked visually. “Some parts of the garden are much sunnier than others, so it was about trying to tie those areas together within the same planting scheme,” she says.
The position and shape of the house helped with dividing the garden into different areas. On this plan, the bedrooms are at the top, with the boardwalk (see previous photo) projecting right. The kitchen-diner is at the bottom, so it made sense to site the outdoor table on a patio next to it.
The entrance to the house is to the left of the kitchen-diner, and Lucy created space for a kitchen garden down the side, plus a smart leafy patch to welcome visitors by the front door.
The entrance to the house is to the left of the kitchen-diner, and Lucy created space for a kitchen garden down the side, plus a smart leafy patch to welcome visitors by the front door.
While creating a dining area outside the kitchen was an obvious choice, it wasn’t immediately clear what to do with the space outside the bedrooms.
“There wasn’t a huge budget, so the most obvious thing to do was a really big planting scheme, because there’s such a big cost difference between putting in hard and soft landscaping,” Lucy explains. “But there needed to be some sort of balance in the space and somewhere to catch a bit of sun.”
The boardwalk is the perfect solution, sitting lightly amid the planting and creating a spot for loungers.
“There wasn’t a huge budget, so the most obvious thing to do was a really big planting scheme, because there’s such a big cost difference between putting in hard and soft landscaping,” Lucy explains. “But there needed to be some sort of balance in the space and somewhere to catch a bit of sun.”
The boardwalk is the perfect solution, sitting lightly amid the planting and creating a spot for loungers.
Lucy has now planted it to be a calming space. The scheme has a soft, wild feel that creates a sense of seclusion. “This area feels like a really private spot,” she says.
To connect the garden to the interiors, Lucy chose colours that chimed with the furnishings in the bedrooms, picking out the pinks of one room with Centranthus and Persicaria, and the lime greens of the other with Euphorbia (see next photo).
“It’s subtle, but it helps to add to the calm feeling through continuity,” she says.
The soft purple spires are Agastache.
To connect the garden to the interiors, Lucy chose colours that chimed with the furnishings in the bedrooms, picking out the pinks of one room with Centranthus and Persicaria, and the lime greens of the other with Euphorbia (see next photo).
“It’s subtle, but it helps to add to the calm feeling through continuity,” she says.
The soft purple spires are Agastache.
With this photo, taken in spring, you can see how the lime green Euphorbia helps to connect the garden to the interior.
The two key hard landscaping areas – this one outside the bedrooms and the other near the kitchen-diner – are ipe hardwood decking. “Because it was a fairly small area, it was worth paying for the hardwood, and it should last for a very long time,” Lucy says.
Tempted to revamp your outside space? Find local garden designers in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
The two key hard landscaping areas – this one outside the bedrooms and the other near the kitchen-diner – are ipe hardwood decking. “Because it was a fairly small area, it was worth paying for the hardwood, and it should last for a very long time,” Lucy says.
Tempted to revamp your outside space? Find local garden designers in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Lucy chose wood over stone paving for its softer feel. “This used to be a walled garden for a big house, then the plot was divided into four in the 1960s, so the owners are lucky that on one side they have a beautiful original garden wall [see next photo]. Plus, the house is built of London Stock brick,” she says. “So to lay stone would have been too heavy. We wanted something much freer and lighter. The wood has a lovely tonal quality to it; it’s much softer and more grounding, and it suits the garden more.”
Lucy thought hard about whether to keep the original weeping cherry (seen here). “It’s a really 1960s tree, and it’s kind of in an awkward space, but we wanted to keep it and actually, it’s come into its own,” she says.
She’s made a feature of the tree by giving the area its own identity. “It needed to feel like a contrast to the wild planting near the bedrooms, so we have shingle under the tree and hebes around it,” she says. “It’s like mass and void, so there’s a balance between the two spaces, but they still work well together.”
The garden luckily already had a leafy boundary, which Lucy kept. The original wall (on the left here) is draped with a vine; the back is lined with conifers, and the fence opposite the brick wall, by the dining area, is softened by a mature beech hedge.
You might also enjoy 20 Patios That Incorporate Lush Planting.
The garden luckily already had a leafy boundary, which Lucy kept. The original wall (on the left here) is draped with a vine; the back is lined with conifers, and the fence opposite the brick wall, by the dining area, is softened by a mature beech hedge.
You might also enjoy 20 Patios That Incorporate Lush Planting.
The living room protrudes into the garden and has large windows on three sides, so it was doubly important that Lucy link the garden areas visually. “Because you can see both aspects, it could have felt like two different spaces, so I’ve linked them with ferns, clipped box and Euphorbia,” she says.
In order to be able to link the different areas with their varying light levels elegantly, Lucy spent time in the garden before designing it.
“I sat in the garden for a good couple of hours, so I could see where the sun was moving and get a feel for views, which spaces felt nice to look at from the house, which spaces felt nice to sit in, and what might work with an existing tree,” she says. “You need to get used to a space and get a feel for it.”
“I sat in the garden for a good couple of hours, so I could see where the sun was moving and get a feel for views, which spaces felt nice to look at from the house, which spaces felt nice to sit in, and what might work with an existing tree,” she says. “You need to get used to a space and get a feel for it.”
Lucy was keen to do succession planting, so the garden would evolve through the seasons and still have interest in the colder months. “There’s clipped box hedging, Hebes and Euphorbias, which keep some green [in the winter]; grasses that keep their upright form, and lots of plants that retain their seedheads, including Sedum,” she says. “Then in spring, you have the bulbs coming through, so there’s a cycle within the planting.”
Luckily, the owners were happy to embrace the idea of seedheads and grasses for winter interest. “Fifteen years ago, people were wanting much more pristine spaces, but now there’s a movement for a wilder feel,” Lucy says. “People have a better understanding of what an outside space can bring, rather than expecting an immaculate garden all the time, which is just unrealistic. They’re happy to embrace the seasons more.”
Luckily, the owners were happy to embrace the idea of seedheads and grasses for winter interest. “Fifteen years ago, people were wanting much more pristine spaces, but now there’s a movement for a wilder feel,” Lucy says. “People have a better understanding of what an outside space can bring, rather than expecting an immaculate garden all the time, which is just unrealistic. They’re happy to embrace the seasons more.”
Restricting the number of plant varieties has stopped the expanse looking messy. “I pick seven or so plants and repeat them in blocks of threes, fives and sevens,” Lucy says, “otherwise it can become overwhelming. The repetition gives a calming sensation.
“There’s also repetition with the contrast in form and texture of the plants,” she continues. “For instance, Sedum, with a flat head, next to the spikes of the Persicaria and grasses.
The grasses include Anemanthele lessoniana and Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’.
“There’s also repetition with the contrast in form and texture of the plants,” she continues. “For instance, Sedum, with a flat head, next to the spikes of the Persicaria and grasses.
The grasses include Anemanthele lessoniana and Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’.
The concrete bench at the back of the garden gets the afternoon and evening sun, the mature willow creating dappled shade.
The pavers were part of an existing patio, which Lucy lifted and reused. “They’re standard concrete slabs from the 1960s,” she says. “They have quite a nice exposed aggregate look and they fit with the house.”
The pavers were part of an existing patio, which Lucy lifted and reused. “They’re standard concrete slabs from the 1960s,” she says. “They have quite a nice exposed aggregate look and they fit with the house.”
The wooden seat chimes with the decking.
You might also enjoy How to Design Garden Lighting That’s Good for You and Wildlife.
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Now re-laid, the lawn neatly connects the relaxing and dining areas.
“It’s actually quite a simple layout, but it’s the planting that gives it that wow factor,” Lucy says. “Sometimes, it’s easy to overcomplicate things, and actually [it’s best to] keep it fairly simple, then let the plants do the talking.”
The purple flowers seen here are Aquilegia.
“It’s actually quite a simple layout, but it’s the planting that gives it that wow factor,” Lucy says. “Sometimes, it’s easy to overcomplicate things, and actually [it’s best to] keep it fairly simple, then let the plants do the talking.”
The purple flowers seen here are Aquilegia.
There were a few existing shrubs, including the large-leafed Fatsia japonica, and two apple trees, which Lucy kept and worked into the new design.
The area around the dining table is shady, so Lucy went for ferns and grasses to add to the existing greenery. Even though it has a different feel to the wilder area near the bedrooms, the spaces blend well, because the planting changes gradually from the sunny area to this shady spot.
The entrance to the house is on the opposite side to the main garden. This patch to the left was originally fairly characterless.
Lucy divided the strip into two. By the front door, she created a welcoming but very low-maintenance area. A weed membrane sits beneath granite chippings, which are held neatly in place by a Corten steel retaining edge. Amelanchier shrubs, Hakonechloa macra grass and Ilex crenata balls bring soft greenery to the space without needing much attention.
At the back there’s now a kitchen garden, with raised beds and an area to hang up washing.
The genius of Lucy’s design lies in her having created different spaces, each with its own mood yet a sense of calm cohesion. Whether the owners want to be in sun or shade, there’s always somewhere to sit in this beautiful garden.
Tell us…
What do you love about Lucy’s design? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
The genius of Lucy’s design lies in her having created different spaces, each with its own mood yet a sense of calm cohesion. Whether the owners want to be in sun or shade, there’s always somewhere to sit in this beautiful garden.
Tell us…
What do you love about Lucy’s design? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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I love this garden design, it looks pretty.
@Deborah Spence - interesting point.
A fabulous garden. I think it is utterly stunning.
@S Charles - I also wonder how much it cost, but we will never know as cost is rarely given on Houzz.
As a new owner of a 1960’s corner plot bungalow, it was lovely to see a practical yet so pretty design. We inherited masses of concrete and have many different levels and although it’s south facing we are without the benefit of mature trees/walls for shade. It was a lovely design, lots of simple but effective tips and a good mix of year round interest. I imagine the limited budget far exceeds what I’d call limited but I’m grateful for the designer sharing this design, thank you Lucy.