New Leaf Design

We contacted Ivan to help with renovating our large, overgrown country garden on Box Hill. We needed a garden designer who could look past the overgrowth, uneven paving and general clutter, and come up with a design to create a beautiful outdoor space that we would enjoy living in for years to come. We knew this was a big project – the garden is over an acre, and has a significant slope from front to rear, on challenging clay and chalk soil. The whole garden needed renovating, including front entrance area, front garden, side garden, rear patio, lawn, borders and route to rear garden areas, which we wanted to be able to take our land rover through to access the productive growing areas at the rear of the garden. Ivan worked with us over several months to come up with a design that would present a smarter face of the house to visitors, as well as created new paved areas, new borders, walls, a sunken kitchen garden, large rear patio and water feature. It was a really clever design that gave the garden a new character, and made the most of the new zig-zag brick walls and herringbone brick paving. It also managed to create a real sense of flow between the many garden levels, using an ingenious collection of steps and terraced patio levels to negotiate the large level changes around the house. The design process was enjoyable and inspiring and Ivan came up with various options for us to review until we were totally happy with the design. He guided us through the process, helped us choose materials, arrange contractors, source plants, conduct a competitive tender process and oversee the construction process as well. He even designed a bespoke hardwood front gate for us and helped source and choose the right paint colour to repaint the entire exterior of the house to complement the new paving slabs and walls, and when it was all complete he helped us find the perfect cantilevered parasol and arranged delivery. The design was a great combination of modern and classic style – our house is not especially old, dating from between the wars, so we were free to play with a combination of classic materials such as antique brick walls and paving, and modern materials such as porcelain paving. The most important thing was that Ivan had a vision for the garden – a vision that addressed its potential and saw through the dilapidated state it was in when he first visited, and that vision in turn made more sense of the house and gave it a better setting which, although we have no plans to move, we are sure has improved the kerb appeal. Ivan’s planting knowledge also meant that we now have beautiful, colourful borders to enjoy all summer along, as well as some beautiful pieces of yew topiary for year-round structure – which look particularly beautiful covered in frost in the winter when they are covered in thick frost. We absolutely love the garden Ivan designed and we enjoy living in it all summer long, and are looking forward

New Leaf Design, Dorking We contacted Ivan at New Leaf when we moved into our new home in Dorking and were undecided about how to deal with the overgrown, sloping back garden with an ugly brick retaining wall across its width. The level front garden was to be used for growing fruit and vegetables so we wanted to focus on creating a rear garden of ornamental plants for wildlife and for recreation. Ivan gave us a lot of time discussing the issues of the sloping site, sandy soil and particularly our own requirements. He persuaded us to keep the ugly wall but hide it with planting and make a feature of new, wide central steps leading up to the next level - in hindsight clearly the most practical and attractive solution. On his advice we also incorporated a new wildlife pond breaking through the wall and extending into a new extended patio. We are both knowledgeable gardeners and wanted to handle most of the planting ourselves but we still needed a framework for the hard landscaping. Ivan’s design covered re-grading some of the garden levels, replacing crumbling walls and re-siting a garden shed to an inconspicuous corner. His detailed plans included a new large patio, lawn, paths and seating areas. Ivan also helped us to source some trees that we had chosen with his advice at discount. As keen gardeners we have found it very rewarding to develop the planting within the framework Ivan designed. The view from our open plan living rooms is wonderful, summer and winter. We happily recommend New Leaf Design to anyone wanting to redesign their garden - we thought the costs were very reasonable for the time and work given and we still benefit for Ivan’s advice and design. .