Modern garden with easy maintenance block planting.
Having completed the process of replacing a 1930's bungalow with a bright and open new build this client was keen to be able to have an equally striking garden in which to entertain and relax. The main elements of the brief were that it should maintain the feeling of openness to its surroundings and that the planting should be low maintenance.
My proposal attempted to mirror the bold features of the house and focused on mainly structural planting. Unconventionally there are no 'borders' around the edges of the garden. The planting is mainly concentrated in the central part of the garden and is all contained within 'beds' which are edged by combinations of low rendered walls, steel raised beds and steel edging. The drop in level is managed by way of these planted areas and also by single steps which dissect the garden.
The boundaries have been cleared of existing plants and on two sides are left partly open and are delineated only via feature posts connected intermittently by tension wire with the aim of preventing the sense of enclosure and bringing the greater surrounding area into the garden. The fenced boundary has feature block planting of mature hedging designed to draw the eye from the central planted area.
My response to the desire for the garden to be easy maintenance is to focus the planting in blocks using tall grasses, hardy perennials and shrubs.