David Johnson Garden Design and Consultancy

A regular-sized, domestic garden with stunning Downland views

This was a fabulous project for me, and a good example of what can be achieved with what I would call a normal, regular-sized domestic garden. What helped specifically here was the context. The garden faced approximately south west to west, with stunning views out onto the Sussex South Downs. The garden lies to the rear of a very attractive and beautifully maintained bungalow, and a patio, running across the back of the property, was already in place. The immediate problem was that the garden rose up quite steeply from the patio, and had to be retained by a wall, approximately 1m in height. Access was had to the garden from a set of steps to the left hand side which, whilst attractive, were a dominant feature, giving a sense of imbalance. To the other side of the patio, an old and decaying garden shed was located far too close to the property.

The following two shots show the immediate problem:

In addition to the problematic location of the shed, the rest of the garden had become very overgrown and untidy. The lawn was difficult to maintain, and there were some old hard works (walling) cuting across the garden amongst the shrubbery. The garden really needed to be opened out, and its full size appreciated by exploring the corners. The following shots show the extent to which existing plants had outstayed their welcome:

The existing garden did have a focal point, a mature flowering cherry, located just off-centre in the existing lawn. The basic premise of the design was that a circular lawn would be created around the tree, edged with brick to give a tidy aspect. The planting would be traditional English, a mixture of smaller shrubs and herbaceous plants. A new shed was located to the rear right corner, with tasteful surround planting, but the largest innovation would be in the corner of the patio where the old shed was located. The patio would be extended, and a second set of steps, identical to the first, would lead from the extended patio up towards the new lawn. A wooden pergola would be built in the corner of the patio, large enough to permit outdoor dining, planted with a proliferation of roses and wisteria. The design is shown below:

The garden build proceeded very well. The quality of top soil is notoriously poor on the South Downs, and a raised garden is also very well drained, so given that there was a very limited amount of rainfall in the first season after the garden was planted, both the lawn and the herbaceous plants suffered to some small degree. The following shots were taken during that first season - a return visit this spring, three years down the line, will hopefully yield some shots of greater maturity. However, the basic structure of the garden, one of open aspects and elements of interest now spread right the way across the plot, show that the desired effect was achieved, a sense of space and strong form:

The following photo album shows more shots of the garden, both before and after the build. These will hopefully be updated during 2009 with new photographs showing a greater degree of maturity:

To Contact Me:

Phone: (01903) 891507

Mobile: 07765 114562

Email: downsscape@aol.com