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A garden for all seasons

With a busy life-style juggling running a business and bringing up a young family, these clients needed a stylish, multi-purpose garden to complement their newly renovated dream home.  Creating a safe space for kids’ football while providing a place to relax and entertain friends was the design challenge achieved with individual garden rooms.

Reclaimed brickwork to match the house defined each area with open ‘windows’ between the spaces.  Two contrasting water features help to separate seating areas and open garden as well as providing a focal point and a home for wildlife.

Densely-planted curved boarders, raised beds and large planters bring all year colour and interest to the garden. Evergreen foliage, flowering shrubs and summer-blooming perennials deliver bursts of colour alongside mature specimen trees for privacy and dappled shady corners.

A beautiful timber pergola shelters the sophisticated outdoor kitchen and a smaller, green rooved gazebo provides welcome shade on the sunny terrace – the perfect place to switch off after a busy day.

Following a path under scented arches of climbers brings you to a raised dining space alongside a large patio leading off the kitchen.  A formal circular pond breaks through the lines of this design to create an intimate haven to chill in during rare moments of peace, as well as a practical space for family meal times.

After years of house renovation and disruption, the swift and efficient creation of a garden for all seasons in just a couple of months, brought this project to its perfect conclusion.

Duration
10 weeks

Location
Two sides of the house
Binfield, Berks

Dimensions
Quarter acre approx

Call 01491 280447

Email info@greenart.co.uk
Facebook @greenartoxford
Instagram @green_art_garden_design

Making a new home complete

Creating a welcoming and practical outdoor extension to a prestigious new home was the objective of this garden design.  With open space on three sides of a large detached new build property, the challenge was to create three separate but complementary garden rooms to allow for outdoor dining, relaxation and space for two energetic dogs.

At the core of this garden design was the relationship between the inside and outside and the connection of one to the other.  At the centre of the house, bifold doors open out from the living / dining room onto an Italian-inspired courtyard complete with a circular brick and flint pool.  A raised corner terrace provides a sunny and tranquil place to sit and enjoy the gurgling fountain while planting reflects the Mediterranean feel as well as a source of pollen for the bees and other insects.

Either side of the courtyard pencil Cypress trees separate the three garden rooms, while black steel estate fencing makes sure the dogs stay safe in their own space.

The larger, informal garden includes a generous entertaining area of tumbled limestone paving finished with neat brick edging, allowing plenty of space for outdoor eating as well as for enjoying the sun as it moves around the house during the day.  Sweeping in graceful curves, this paving continues all around the house through each of the garden areas to lead you from one space to the next.

The lawn, surrounded by curved borders of brightly colours perennials, evergreen and flowering shrubs as well as specimen trees allows space for family and pets to have fun in as well as all year-round interest to enjoy from the comfort of the lounge and study.

A mix of formal and informal characterises the garden to the side where the back door opens to a circular bed of roses and softens into the surrounding landscape with a mixture of orchard planting, wildflower meadow and climbers on the boundary fences.

The little details that make a difference included fixed seating to maximise space and a reclaimed Belfast sink for washing muddy paws in.

“George and his team were great to work with from start to finish.  The design works perfectly and I absolutely love spending time in the garden.  It’s made our new home complete.”

Duration
5 weeks

Location
Three sides of the house
Benson, Oxon

Dimensions
25m x 25m approx

Call 01491 280447

Email info@greenart.co.uk
Facebook @greenartoxford
Instagram @green_art_garden_design

Smart design to maximise space and budget for years to come

Creating two distinct outdoor rooms to provide year-round interest that would be easy to maintain in years to come, was the priority for this client who lives in a bungalow with a small back garden.

The design is based around two contrasting spaces linked by slate-faced raised beds and seating  A formal, primarily hard-landscaped garden with a bold Corten steel letter-box water feature and Limestone paving cut through with curved brick lines maximise the space outside the living room by leading the eye to the corners of the garden.

The bedroom, meanwhile, looks out onto soft, curved lines, pebble-filled beds bordering a generous lawn and set-off with four large cylindrical Corten planters to display specimen shrubs chosen for their foliage, bark and interesting shapes.

A narrow colour scheme of blues, purples and whites planted in blocks creates year-round interest that’s simple and easy to look after.

View more photos of this fantastic garden here

Location
Back garden
Benson, Oxfordshire

Dimensions
17m x 6m

Call 01491 280447 | 07901 977290

Email info@greenart.co.uk
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Sleek and contemporary design for outdoor living

With an eye for design and a desire for a dramatic effect in their new garden, these clients wanted to retain a feeling of space while focusing on a specific colour palette. With outdoor entertaining a priority the challenge was to combine hard and soft landscaping features within a clean and structured design.

A stainless steel water feature created the drama in the centre of a densely planted border of shrubs, perennials and grasses. Polished stainless steel planters repeat the design theme throughout the garden.

Smooth, cream sandstone provides a spacious terrace with plenty of room for entertaining, while an intimate corner was created behind a screen of Sambucus Black Lace. Horizontal Cedar screens give a contemporary feel to the boundaries while pleached Hornbeams provide additional privacy close to the house.

Duration
3 weeks

Location
Rear garden
Cholsey, Oxfordshire

Dimensions
21m x 15m

Call 01491 280447 | 07901 977290
Email info@greenart.co.uk
Follow @greenarttweets

A show garden in the making

As part of planning for their early retirement and as a way to make their garden stand out from the crowd in the historic village of Ewelme, these clients asked us to design and build a front garden with The WOW factor.

We combined clean, contemporary lines with natural welsh slate and cedar to create a seated wall encompassing a sleek, stainless steel water feature.

A lush bog garden and dense planting created a degree of privacy along with a wide variety of colour and form.

Duration
3 weeks on site

Location
Front garden
Ewleme, Oxfordshire

Dimensions
20m x 10m

Call 01491 280447 | 07901 977290
Email info@greenart.co.uk
Follow @greenarttweets

A garden flowing from The Downs

Once the family had grown up and moved away, these clients were keen to transform their awkward and overgrown garden into a tranquil haven where they could enjoy their retirement and love of gardening.

Using strong lines and bold design, we created a garden that provided easy and safe access with terracing, wide steps and plenty of seating alongside a formal pond fed by a tumbling, pebble-lined stream.

Flowering and evergreen shrubs, perennials and specimen Acers fill the beds that surround the lawns while raised beds provide a more comfortable way to grow vegetables.

Duration
12 weeks

Location
Front and back gardens
Blewbury, Oxfordshire

Dimensions
72m x 60m

Call 01491 280447 | 07901 977290
Email info@greenart.co.uk
Follow @greenarttweets