London Garden Tour: Year-Round Greenery in a Beautiful Courtyard
This modest city garden is a masterclass in making a plot look bigger and creating a layered haven that invites you in
Often, when a house is being renovated, the garden can become a bit of an afterthought. Not so with this plot behind a Victorian terrace in London, UK. “The owners wanted the garden to be the focal point as soon as you came through the door,” says Paul Duffy of GRDN, who, along with his colleague, Peter Robinson, designed this leafy haven. Read on to see before and after photos and discover how the designers drastically transformed the space.
The original garden was a classic patch of lawn with straight, shallow borders. As you can see from this ‘before’ shot, there were some established plants, including three acers (two of which can be seen here on the right), which Duffy kept and incorporated into the new design.
“We always try to work with established plants,” he says. “They can really give a garden that maturity from day one.”
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“We always try to work with established plants,” he says. “They can really give a garden that maturity from day one.”
Does your garden need a fresh design? Find a local garden designer on Houzz
The new design has soft layers of vegetation and offers a meandering path to the office, which has made the plot seem much bigger, as the eye has so many places to rest along the way.
“We were trying to provide a space to have a glass of wine, but also with that element of a journey through it, with stopping spaces throughout to a destination,” says Duffy. “It wasn’t a complex brief, but it was an extensive one catering to all those needs.”
“We were trying to provide a space to have a glass of wine, but also with that element of a journey through it, with stopping spaces throughout to a destination,” says Duffy. “It wasn’t a complex brief, but it was an extensive one catering to all those needs.”
As the garden can be seen from the house, Duffy and Robinson designed the planting to look good all year round. “We didn’t want it to just be in bloom from May to August, so we aimed to get a balance of evergreen species,” says Duffy.
The evergreens include Pittosporum; Asplenium and Polystichum ferns; Pachysandra terminalis; Sarcococca, and Fatsia japonica.
There are numerous layers and colours in the planting, which give the scheme depth. “Different tones, textures and forms – that’s what we were trying to achieve,” says Duffy. The acers in particular bring different shades into the garden at different times, including red, orange and yellow.
The evergreens include Pittosporum; Asplenium and Polystichum ferns; Pachysandra terminalis; Sarcococca, and Fatsia japonica.
There are numerous layers and colours in the planting, which give the scheme depth. “Different tones, textures and forms – that’s what we were trying to achieve,” says Duffy. The acers in particular bring different shades into the garden at different times, including red, orange and yellow.
The couple didn’t want a lawn. “A lot of our most interesting gardens don’t have lawns,” says Duffy. “They have planting and a relationship between hard and soft spaces. Here, it was about trying to get that balance of hard and soft – keeping it very natural.”
This ‘before’ shot shows the ground prepared for the paving and water feature.
The owners chose concrete paving. “They liked the finish,” says Duffy. He used two different sizes and laid the pavers in different ways for subtle zoning. On the patio outside the house, 800 x 400-millimetre slabs are set vertically in a stretcher-bond pattern. The path, meanwhile, is formed of long, thin planks laid horizontally in a modern-looking stackbond pattern.
Mind-your-own-business (Soleirolia soleirolii) is planted between the pavers to soften the path. “It does really well in little gaps,” says Duffy. “It’s even taken itself into the bench at the back – it’s naturalised elements like that.”
There’s also some mossy Sagina subulata in places, seen here in the paler-coloured greenery continuing on from the mind-your-own-business. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” he says.
There’s also some mossy Sagina subulata in places, seen here in the paler-coloured greenery continuing on from the mind-your-own-business. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” he says.
The owners are a creative couple and wanted to bring in a few small sculptures. This piece adds soft curves and offers a drinking spot for birds. It sits nicely with the flowering Tiarella cordifolia behind and the pompom Hakonechloa macra grass.
A reclaimed timber bench is positioned outside the office at the back of the garden. Its short timber feet sit on a couple of concrete pads to keep it off the damp ground.
“It fitted really well with the aesthetic and feel of the garden,” says Duffy. “We had to get it through the house, though. Luckily, it was a direct route. We rolled it through on scaffolding poles.”
Browse more stunning gardens with concrete pavers
“It fitted really well with the aesthetic and feel of the garden,” says Duffy. “We had to get it through the house, though. Luckily, it was a direct route. We rolled it through on scaffolding poles.”
Browse more stunning gardens with concrete pavers
A tree fern, which was already in place, offers a leafy view to the side of the garden office.
A water feature brings movement and sparkling light into the garden. It was built by the GRDN team on-site from sheet steel painted black.
“It’s about half a metre in depth,” says Duffy. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden. We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The mind-your-own-business dotted with Pachysandra terminalis has beautifully softened the edges, while Equisetum (horsetail) sprouts from the water.
“It’s about half a metre in depth,” says Duffy. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden. We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The mind-your-own-business dotted with Pachysandra terminalis has beautifully softened the edges, while Equisetum (horsetail) sprouts from the water.
In this ‘before’ photo, you can see the spikes that hold the large pebble-like rock in the newly created water trough. A pump was fitted underneath to propel the water up through the hole in the stone.
One of the skills good garden designers have is being able to visualise the scene when the plants are established. This shot, taken when the garden was newly planted, shows how Duffy and Robinson needed to see in their mind’s eye how the plants would spread and work together. “You have to let stuff establish and grow – give it the room,” says Duffy.
Two years on, those small, spaced-out plants have developed into this glorious flow of colours, shapes and textures. And it’s truly a year-round delight.
“It’s lovely when it snows,” says Duffy, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
Your turn
Which elements of this garden transformation do you love the most? Share your thoughts in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Rethinking your outdoor area? Get your next alfresco design dose here with 7 Ways to Provide Shade in a Small Garden or Outdoor Area
“It’s lovely when it snows,” says Duffy, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
Your turn
Which elements of this garden transformation do you love the most? Share your thoughts in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Rethinking your outdoor area? Get your next alfresco design dose here with 7 Ways to Provide Shade in a Small Garden or Outdoor Area
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with a dog and a cat
Location: London, UK
Property: A Victorian terrace house
Garden dimensions: 44 square metres
Designers: Paul Duffy and Peter Robinson of GRDN
The brief for the garden was twofold: as well as designing a stunning focal point that could be enjoyed from the house, the couple asked Duffy and Robinson to create a journey from the home to the office at the end of the space.