The clients called Karl in to help make their garden a usable space again. They had a range of animals including guinea pigs, rabbits and even a tortoise named George. These guys all live in the garden, so it needed some careful consideration on how to make this a safe space for both humans and animals.
Client Brief
At the top of their list, they needed the decking replacing because the existing pine deck was falling apart. The tired astroturf would also need replacing for a suitable alternative that would stand up to the animal’s foot traffic.
The client knew they wanted to keep their beautiful water feature. They also asked Karl to make room for planting down both sides of the garden. Karl suggested these planters could have an irrigation system so you wouldn’t need to worry about watering the plants. This was an easy decision for the client to make.
Garden Clean up
The first task was clearing the garden. We were lucky to be able to remove one of the fence panels as the garden backs onto a car park. From there we brought an excavator into clear 3 eight-yard skips worth of waste. That’s a lot of waste for a small space but we needed to do this to create the elevation differences the client wanted.
Millboard Garden Makeover
Millboard kindly sent free samples to the client to help make their decision. They did consider other composite decking options, but they fell in love with millboard and ultimately chose the enhanced grain limed oak colour. The difference in elevation effectively made a step up into the other half of the garden. This step helped make an area for George (the tortoise) to enjoy whilst keeping him away from the other half of the garden.
On the step that divides this elevation, Karl suggested routing a hidden LED strip into the underneath of the millboard. This LED strip is controlled via a remote that’s also connected to the planter spotlights, water feature and water feature lights. A very simple system that makes for quick and easy control of the garden.
Using planting to your advantage
The hutches had to stay in the garden, so Karl convinced the client to push these into the back left corner of the garden. The client cleverly planted across the top with a combination of Cranesbill purple geraniums and Athyrium Ferns to help it disappear into the undergrowth of the garden.
The hutches effectively sit where the shed used to reside and now the shed is in the opposite corner of the garden.
It will be exciting to see how the plants grow next spring and we look forward to the client updating us on their allium journey.
Credits and further information
Completed – 2021
Client – Private
Location – Harefield
Materials Suppliers – Country Supplies
Project – Garden Design and Landscaping
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