The Garden Before
I was asked recently to re-design this garden in Fairfield Park. The owners wanted a clean, contemporary space for their family to play and relax in. The garden sloped away from the house and I was asked to work with the slope rather than terrace the garden into sections. I started by moving the patio
away from the house to the area at the bottom of the garden which got most sun. Using a circular rendered wall the patio was sunk into the corner of the garden and screened behind with panels of red cedar trellis.
The owners were keen to use a strong colour for the paint and planting so we decided to use a burnt orange colour that would add warmth to the space and contrast well with the grasses and bamboo that were used for the planting.
With a small space I wanted to keep the planting simple and also fairly low maintenance. Fargesia Rufa is a great bamboo for smaller gardens so I used that along with a grass called Calamagrostis Karl Foerster that has a good upright habit. For perennials Helenium ‘Waltraut’ and Kniphofia ‘Tawny King’ were planted and a Sorbus commixta – Mountain Ash Tree added some height and autumn interest with it’s orange berries.
