Garden Tour: A Small Urban Plot Gets a Wildlife-friendly Revamp
Removing the lawn was the surprising springboard for this garden’s rustic redesign that’s a haven for birds and bees
Wildflower meadow planting, a meandering path, wisteria, foxgloves, the gentle tinkle of water just out of sight – you’d never guess this garden belongs to an urban 1970s semi. “I like to call the style ‘urban cottage’,” designer and owner Amanda Shipman says.
“The lawn in the original garden was shaded for half the year and, although we loved the open space, it only really looked good in summer. So I redesigned it and removed the lawn, then included space-saving, wildlife-friendly and low-maintenance elements.”
“The lawn in the original garden was shaded for half the year and, although we loved the open space, it only really looked good in summer. So I redesigned it and removed the lawn, then included space-saving, wildlife-friendly and low-maintenance elements.”
At the top of the garden is a pergola with wisteria on top and rattan furniture beneath it – just one of the seating areas (visible top left in the first image).
“As the sun sets in the evening, it shines right in there,” Amanda says. “On the other side [see previous image] is my traditional English garden – roses and a lavender-y border.”
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“As the sun sets in the evening, it shines right in there,” Amanda says. “On the other side [see previous image] is my traditional English garden – roses and a lavender-y border.”
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Amanda’s late husband became unwell as work started on the garden. “When he was ill, he spent a lot of time in the garden,” she says.
“He had one summer in it. I designed it to be viewed from a sitting position, and he spent a lot of time lying under the pergola. It’s a garden for peace.”
Having made the decision to remove the lawn, Amanda’s goal was to ensure biodiversity wasn’t compromised. As such, meadow planting, seen here, is a key feature of the design.
“I used a wildflower border turf and, because I laid it onto ordinary border soil – rather than impoverished ground, which is what you’d often put it onto – it’s gone mad. The wildflowers are loving it!
“It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers, too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Wildflower turf, Wildflower Turf.
“I used a wildflower border turf and, because I laid it onto ordinary border soil – rather than impoverished ground, which is what you’d often put it onto – it’s gone mad. The wildflowers are loving it!
“It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers, too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Wildflower turf, Wildflower Turf.
The view from the back of the garden is a sea of blooms. From the left are Allium cristophii (globes), Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ (spires), Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’, Rosa ‘Mortimer Sackler’ (pink), Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Clematis ‘Rouge Cardinal’, Buxus sempervirens, Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ (not in flower), Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ (yellow grass in foreground).
The plants in the pot are Helichrysum petiolatum, mini trailing petunia and geranium. Wisteria sinensis grows above the window and door on the house.
The plants in the pot are Helichrysum petiolatum, mini trailing petunia and geranium. Wisteria sinensis grows above the window and door on the house.
“The wildlife borders conceal a water feature that you can hear but not see,” Amanda says. “This shows it late in the season after I’ve cut the wildflower border back a bit, which reveals the water,” she says.
“The whole idea was to introduce some mystery, which you don’t usually get in such a small space, and it masks some traffic noise, too,” she adds. “It takes in the sense of sound not just sight, and brings your focus back into the garden.”
It’s perfect for a small garden, as Amanda explains: “The sump is in the pool itself, so I didn’t need to dig down. Because it’s so shallow – just 100ml or so – it doesn’t need much to ripple.”
Pigeons also use the water feature as a bird bath and Amanda has thoughtfully also added a shallower dish for birds with shorter legs, which is positioned on the brick path that meanders through the space.
Water feature, Lucy Smith.
“The whole idea was to introduce some mystery, which you don’t usually get in such a small space, and it masks some traffic noise, too,” she adds. “It takes in the sense of sound not just sight, and brings your focus back into the garden.”
It’s perfect for a small garden, as Amanda explains: “The sump is in the pool itself, so I didn’t need to dig down. Because it’s so shallow – just 100ml or so – it doesn’t need much to ripple.”
Pigeons also use the water feature as a bird bath and Amanda has thoughtfully also added a shallower dish for birds with shorter legs, which is positioned on the brick path that meanders through the space.
Water feature, Lucy Smith.
In this shot of the garden from above, a fence Amanda revamped can be seen at the back. “The actual fence slopes, as the ground slopes – it used to drive me nuts,” she says. But it wasn’t something Amanda could replace, since the fence runs behind a row of houses and borders a walkway. Besides, she had a smarter idea.
“You don’t always need to replace a fence to improve it. I overboarded my section with horizontal wood slats, which evened up the horizon,” she explains.
“As long as your posts are solid, overboarding is also a really good idea for achieving a uniform fence style on all three sides of a garden, even when different neighbours own different bits of the fence,” she says.
“You don’t always need to replace a fence to improve it. I overboarded my section with horizontal wood slats, which evened up the horizon,” she explains.
“As long as your posts are solid, overboarding is also a really good idea for achieving a uniform fence style on all three sides of a garden, even when different neighbours own different bits of the fence,” she says.
Amanda is very pleased with her shed. She picked a design that has a door in the middle of the longest stretch. “It means you never have to reach into the depths, through cobwebs, to find what you’re looking for. Everything is visible and within reach.”
She also made a point of positioning the shed against the centre of the fence, rather than up at one end. “It means you create two secluded seating areas either side. Heaven knows why people so often put sheds in the corner,” she says.
The shed also has a sedum roof, meaning that, as well as being wildlife-friendly, it’s attractive when seen from the upstairs windows.
Shed painted in Muted Clay, Cuprinol.
She also made a point of positioning the shed against the centre of the fence, rather than up at one end. “It means you create two secluded seating areas either side. Heaven knows why people so often put sheds in the corner,” she says.
The shed also has a sedum roof, meaning that, as well as being wildlife-friendly, it’s attractive when seen from the upstairs windows.
Shed painted in Muted Clay, Cuprinol.
From this angle, you can see how Amanda has used the position of the shed to carve out one of four seating areas (there’s another on the opposite side). This one is on the patio close to the house.
“I never need a parasol, as there’s always shade somewhere at some point in the day,” she says.
“I never need a parasol, as there’s always shade somewhere at some point in the day,” she says.
In a raised bed behind the bench, Amanda planted a flowering dogwood (Cornus kousa), which she bought as a mature tree. “It has little, starry-shaped bracts, which are very beautiful when you’re looking down from the windows above,” she says. “It’s important to consider the views you’ll have of your plants when you position them.”
The potted plants are hostas. “They’re very heavy and in large pots,” Amanda says. “I’ve put them on pot trolleys that take up to 160kg. They roll at a touch, so I can easily sweep underneath them without help. It’s part of me being independent in my own space.”
The pot trolleys are recycled plastic with good-quality wheels from Germany. “They can easily buckle if they’re not strong enough,” Amanda explains, “so it’s worth investing. These were around £45 each.”
The potted plants are hostas. “They’re very heavy and in large pots,” Amanda says. “I’ve put them on pot trolleys that take up to 160kg. They roll at a touch, so I can easily sweep underneath them without help. It’s part of me being independent in my own space.”
The pot trolleys are recycled plastic with good-quality wheels from Germany. “They can easily buckle if they’re not strong enough,” Amanda explains, “so it’s worth investing. These were around £45 each.”
A close-up view of the Cornus kousa reveals the pretty, star-shaped bracts.
The patio runs full width across the garden and is paved with porcelain tiles. “The tiles are really easy to keep clean, as they only need a sweep, and as they’re vitrified, they don’t attract algae, so they’re not slippery,” Amanda says.
Limerick porcelain tiles, CED Stone Group.
Limerick porcelain tiles, CED Stone Group.
The fourth seating area is a dining space on the other side of the patio to the bench.
“The wisteria starts just beyond the patio wall, seen at the bottom here, and goes 15 metres each side – stretching across the back of the house at one end.
Despite it looking very woody, wisteria isn’t hard to prune. “You just tidy back the thin whips that grow each summer,” Amanda says.
Euphorbia grows just to the right of the statue. “I love some lime green in the spring,” Amanda says. Also in this part of the garden are hellebores, roses, box and evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
Despite it looking very woody, wisteria isn’t hard to prune. “You just tidy back the thin whips that grow each summer,” Amanda says.
Euphorbia grows just to the right of the statue. “I love some lime green in the spring,” Amanda says. Also in this part of the garden are hellebores, roses, box and evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
The dark tulips in front of the wisteria are ‘Recreado’; the paler pink, blowsy flowers in the foreground are also tulips. “They’re super-duper tulips!” Amanda says. “They’re called La Belle Epoque and are much talked about at the moment.” They’ve been planted with forget-me-nots. “The colours all look so wonderful together,” she says.
Amanda planted them in their own pots. “It means they each perform rather than competing in a bed. And it’s all about performance in a small garden, which is like a theatre – you don’t want everything shouting all the time.
“These flower in late April with the wisteria,” she says. “Then, when they’re done, I move them away and another part of the garden comes to life.”
Amanda planted them in their own pots. “It means they each perform rather than competing in a bed. And it’s all about performance in a small garden, which is like a theatre – you don’t want everything shouting all the time.
“These flower in late April with the wisteria,” she says. “Then, when they’re done, I move them away and another part of the garden comes to life.”
At the back of the garden is an acer tree, underneath which Amanda has planted foxgloves, woodland plants and late-flowering varieties such as Japanese anemones.
She’s opted for a Japanese approach to pruning the acer. “Instead of the British style, which can round things quite a bit, you take out branches, which lightens up the canopy. I don’t cut anything from the edge, only from the inside, close to the trunk. It allows the plant to have its natural span and, I think, makes trees look very graceful.”
She’s opted for a Japanese approach to pruning the acer. “Instead of the British style, which can round things quite a bit, you take out branches, which lightens up the canopy. I don’t cut anything from the edge, only from the inside, close to the trunk. It allows the plant to have its natural span and, I think, makes trees look very graceful.”
The paths in the upper part of the garden are slimline Belgian clay paviors, laid in a herringbone pattern, creating a more informal feel between the planting.
Clay paviors, CED Stone Group.
Clay paviors, CED Stone Group.
“It’s a multi-directional path,” Amanda says. “I wanted you to feel encouraged to walk along it wherever you started. That’s why I chose herringbone – it doesn’t direct you.
“The way you lay paving has an impact on the direction you take and the pace at which you walk along it,” she continues. “Horizontal bands slow you down; if they run lengthways, you want to rush along them.
“The pale, contemporary porcelain tiles are calmer,” Amanda says, “which is why I chose those for close to the back door. They also fit with the house. Then, as you go further out, it gets cottagey. That’s why I call the style ‘urban cottage’.”
Tell us…
What’s your favourite thing about this pretty garden – any ideas you’d steal? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“The way you lay paving has an impact on the direction you take and the pace at which you walk along it,” she continues. “Horizontal bands slow you down; if they run lengthways, you want to rush along them.
“The pale, contemporary porcelain tiles are calmer,” Amanda says, “which is why I chose those for close to the back door. They also fit with the house. Then, as you go further out, it gets cottagey. That’s why I call the style ‘urban cottage’.”
Tell us…
What’s your favourite thing about this pretty garden – any ideas you’d steal? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? The designer and, sometimes, one of her two grown-up daughters and their partners
Location St Albans, Hertfordshire
Property A 1970s linked detached house
Garden dimensions 10 x 10m
Garden designer Amanda Shipman (now retired)
Photos by Amanda Shipman
Relaxing in one of the four secluded seating areas in this petite plot, senses soothed by the gentle splashes of a hidden water feature and the buzz of contented bees taking their pick from the many pollen-rich blooms, you’d be hard pushed to believe you weren’t in the middle of the countryside. This was exactly Amanda’s plan for the garden, which she overhauled in 2017.