Landscaping case studies

I have worked with thousands of clients to help them get the garden which best meets their needs. Often this involves specific problem-solving to meet their needs within the constraints imposed by budget, site conditions, access arrangements and legislation.

1. Farm house, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire: Originally an old farm house Henley-in-Arden which was rebuilt. The rock garden was built in 2009 but were left unfinished and I came in late 2009 to see if I could make it into a beautiful feature.; The client felt some parts had been properly laid whilst others rock just dropped in place, so I surveyed the site and position of the rocks to plan the planting pockets and which rocks to move.; I replanned the location of the rocks and supervised the re-siting. The soil was very poor and had to be dug out and replaced with compost; To finish I created a planting plan to provide a low, colourful all the year round scheme. I supplied all the plants and carried out the planting in summer 2010.
2. Mews Garden, Harborne, Birmingham: A mews garden in the heart of old Harborne, formerly the old ‘Chad Valley Railway’, latterly a coal yard and garage. When the mews was built the railway bank was hidden by a log wall, covering trees, bricks and coal bunker.; The plan was not only to give the clients access to the top garden but to make a feature of and space to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables. I mapped the garden in 2008 and created the flowing design in a mixture of new matching landscape logs and timber to provide steps and bark paths around and up to a bench set looking down over their domain; The garden was built over 2008/2009 and planted in the spring. I managed both the construction and the planting.
3. Small town garden, Dickens Heath, Solihull: A small town garden on a sloping site in Dickens Heath, designed in 2008.; I designed the scheme from the ‘map your garden’ to ‘monitor the contract’ stages. It was a tricky small garden where I wanted to build an oasis for a couple who were hands-on gardeners but couldn’t get as much from their garden as they wanted.; I used a local, small contractor who worked hard to make it fit well. The clients put the finishing touches like the plants into the scheme.
4. Bird lovers garden, Leicester: My clients, both keen birdwatchers, had come to the point of wanted to re-start their garden from square one. Their overgrown cluttered garden needed to cleared and started again. They live in a busy small town outside Leicester.; The new garden needed to start nearer the rear of house, inviting you to walk down it on a level to the rear, taking in colourful borders, a Bishops Seat and a wild garden at the end. An angled stone path zigzags down the garden from a simple flight of sleeper steps from the new terrace, under a new tall pergola with bird feeders, bird boxes and beside colourful plants that would attract wildlife including birds.; I designed the new garden in 2009 and it was built in 2009 by G-Scapes of Lichfield. The work was carried out meticulously and the birds have returned.
5. New-build terraced house, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire: The couple, both retired, wanted a garden that the lady could potter in attending her many plants. A complete blank canvas of a sloping lawn led up from a retaining wall, with the only access through the house for all the materials.; To achieve the clients' aims I recommended creating a series of levels with retaining walls masked with plants, which would maximise the space. I also added some screening to the rear and a water feature to create a focus near the house.; During construction the contractor William Wickett discovered a compacted layer of broken rubble just 225 mm below the whole garden. Although he was able to reuse much of this material it greatly added to his work in breaking it up wherever it compromised the finished garden.; Using logs and sleepers a series of levels were created for areas of lawn and planting and a path of brick and gravel connecting the parts of the garden entices one higher under a rose arch before arriving the top.; The garden was designed and built in 2010. I supplied the plants, which were planted by the client.
6. Established town garden, Dorridge, Solihull: An established town garden that was redesigned in 2008 and built by the clients in 2008 and 2009.; The main lawn was broken up with a brick path which lead from the existing terrace to a new sitting out area. The area in the picture is the zigzag garden, which being the warmed and sunniest part of the garden is planted with the most colour plants.; The heavy pergola creates some screening but in particular also creates a strong focal interest away from the neighbouring property at the side.
7. Modern town house, Dickens Heath, Solihull: The couple wanted a minimalist garden to complement their modern 3 storey town house. I used 4 elements: sleeper walls, Johnson’s paving, hard wood decking and grass.; The garden had to drained by the builder before work could start. The work was split between Notcutts staff and the decking company. The original work was carried out in 2003 and I carried out some planting to the rear and redesigned their front garden which William Wickett built in 2010 in a minimalist design.
8. Circular terraced garden, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire: This was a challenging garden, in that the clients had a lovely curved garden but felt that the recent construction of a glasshouse detracted from the simplicity of the original design. To bring the glasshouse and garden back into symmetry I redesigned the garden over 2008-2009 and it was carried out by a local contractor in 2009.; The new cicrular terrace, with its strong design overcame the problems of the levels and incorporated the glasshouse within its own kitchen garden style, walls and mature box hedging.; The rest of the garden was improved with new lawn upgraded planting and new pergola. Much time was spend fine-tuning the design and this, together with attention to detail in the finishing, resulted in a delightful garden.
9. Minimalist town garden, Edgbaston, Birmingham: This was a very small garden, barely a few square metres, in the heart of new development in Edgbaston. The clients had intended to build a conservatory on to their three storey house painted in the same colour as the exterior paintwork.; The design had to minimalist and yet I wanted to give the impression of space. The conservatory had fully opening doors and this led without any step to the dark slate paving, broken with a ring of buff sets. The garden was partly roofed with an angled pergola in the same colour as the house.; The simplicity of the scheme was broken up by a curved raised bed with bamboos and a matching painted trellis at the rear. A tall painted gate finished off the design. I designed the scheme in 2009, when it was also built.; A brick drain by the threshold provides the necessary drainage from the paving.; The use of 3D Computer Aided Design enabled the clients to visualise the design and make improvements before construction began, saving time and money.
10. The pool garden, 1930s House, Solihull: The clients appropached me because of problems with accessibility around the pool and an infestation of blanket weed. I suggested redesigning the garden to make a circular pool, together with a basic fountain and filter to keep it clear.; The design was carried in 2008 with the new pool, a new set of steps to a lower enlarged terrace and a brick path leading into the garden. The design also dealt with safety and space issues around the kitchen door.; In 2009 William Wickett’s skills as a brick layer were evident with the new pool and its crafted coping stones. We selected a natural stone for all the paving which gave a variegated effect. Note the discrete siting of the terrace drainage alongside the low wall to the steps.
11. The Circular path garden, Monkspath, Solihull: The clients, both retired, are very keen on birds and wanted a relaxing garden that maximised the potential of the site. Much of the rear garden was taken over by vegetation that whilst good in reserve cost them good gardening space. There were also drainage and level issues that needed to be sorted.; The rear of the site was mostly cleared to reveal a large area and formed an informal paved sitting out area. A circular lawn was surrounded by a circular path which connected with a new terrace small water feature.; The planting incorporated existing and new plants and was designed to encourage birds. The design carried out in 2007 and built the same year by Notcutts.
12. Artisan Garden, Edgbaston, Birmingham: This is a long narrow garden comprising 4 sections, terrace, lawn, sunken garden and garage. The terrace was cramped and dark, looking straight on to outhouses. The garage had been removed leaving a large space.; The aim was to recycle some of the materials and link the gardens together preserving the middle and sunken gardens.; The brick terrace was taken up and the terrace extended and rebuilt using new Millstone paving. The outhouses were repainted and a new attractive painted trellis provided a screen to soften the building as structures for the new planting.; The lower garden continued the path to a new wall with a new arched gate. The new garden, with pool, glasshouse and sitting area was constructed out of Millstone, bricks, and recycled blue brick from the terrace to create a haven away from house.