The brief was to get rid of the lawn and bring the garden into the 21st century! The design had to be curves, and the planting had to cope with dry conditions. The design is simple but bold. It will soften as the plants grow and spread or self seed into the gravel.

The brief was similar to the front garden. Get rid of the lawn, add colourful planting for all year interest, and definitely no straight lines!

The design is a series of flowing curves which give interest and movement to the garden, and make it feel much bigger. The boundaries were unified and made more attractive with trellis panels which will later become covered in climbers. A pergola with trellis infill will help shade a rather hot south facing conservatory, as well as hiding the oil tank.

As the planting matures the evergreen shrubs will gradually push out some of the perennials so that maintenance will become less and less. The boundaries will disappear and the pergola will become covered in scented climbers.

In a compact garden, such as this, the brief was quite unexpected - the client wanted to grow vegetables! The lawn (which turned out to be a filled-in swimming pool) was to go, and thankfully so was the large summer house.

Inspired by the shape of the roof, the design evolved from a central octagonal patio. I managed to fit in four good sized vegetable beds which allows for crop rotation. Arches add height and seem to extend the width of the garden. I was also able to fit a second seating area, a bird bath, a small shed, a log store, two beehive composters and additional decorative planting beds. Result!