Montague Road finished garden, view from above
"From the outset Nick made designing our new garden a straight-forward and enjoyable process. He was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging through the design process, and patient even as we went through multiple revisions as the constraints on us changed. In the space of a few days the garden had been transformed - the range and combination of plants has given the garden a really lush, tropical look - it's like having an extra room in the house." Ed and Mike
The finished garden, view from the ground
Contemporary Courtyard Garden, West London
This is a fabulous West London courtyard garden I recently designed and planted in Hanwell, W7.
Although small in size at only 7 x 5 meters, this has to be one of my favourite gardens of all time. The large paving stones work really well in the space, helping to give a more dramatic, expansive feel, and by bringing the borders out from the sides half way up, a second area for entertaining has been created.
Montague Road's new garden is an extension of the kitchen
You can see (above) how effective these borders are in dividing the space when viewed from the seating area at the top right of the garden, looking back to the kitchen.
In the picture below, the bi-fold doors really do help to bring the outside in and the garden creates the perfect picture when viewed from the kitchen. For anyone thinking of building a new kitchen-diner that incorporates bi-fold doors – allow enough in the overall budget to ensure that you will have a lovely garden to look out at! I meet so many clients who have underestimated just how much the garden becomes part of the kitchen when the fourth wall of the kitchen is replaced with a wall of glass.
The bespoke corner bench with its large cushions in the top right corner defines the entertaining area beautifully, and the mirror above helps to create the illusion that the garden goes on even further.
View of the finished garden from the kitchen
The fences were painted black, as this helps to blur the boundaries – a great way of creating the illusion of more space in a smaller garden. Also, the largely evergreen foliage looks amazing against a dark background, as shown in the photo below.
Golden bamboo shoots underplanted with ferns and grasses
This border (above) in the top left hand corner of the garden is planted with golden bamboo and under planted with evergreen ferns, grasses and foxgloves for seasonal interest.
These colourful chairs are excellent against the green foliage
As with any design, the use of colour can have a real impact. In the photo above I used these fabulous brightly coloured retro chairs and the wire bench to provide funky focal points in different parts of the garden. The BBQ fitted perfectly in the space and is hidden from the house by the elegant fronds of the tree fern.
The garden's BBQ area, disguised by palm tree fronds
So, we went from this…..
The garden before its transformation
To this….
The stunning Montague Road garden after transformation
Which I hope you will agree, proves that small really can be beautiful!
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