Projects: Case Study 1
Mr & Mrs L, both in their 70’s, moved from Devon to South Petherton to be nearer their family. Mrs L’s eyesight is deteriorating but she loves her garden and wants to carry on working in it. The back garden was full of mature shrubs, most of which were removed prior to Gardenmaker seeing the site. A few favoured shrubs were retained in the perimeter border. There were a large number of 2ft square slabs previously used as paths.
The brief:
Easy to walk around and maintain
Keep budget to a reasonable figure
To be bright and colourful and include some of Mrs L’s favourite plants
Encourage birds, especially to their feeder
Combine Mr L’s engineering love of straight lines and Mrs L’s love of plants and colour
The design:
A row of slabs around the perimeter provides access to the rear of the borders and the central area is replaced with a series of circles formed with block paviors. A new path, at an angle across the garden, of the reused slabs makes the garden look bigger. Low bright Euonymus hedges edge some of the beds and mixed plantings includes grasses, Fuchsia Mrs Popple and seasonal bulbs, all topped with gravel mulch.
Projects: Case Study 2
Mrs B was recently widowed and wanting to make her garden more manageable. Her south-west facing garden is wide but short with a slight slope and enclosed with panel fencing.
The brief
Easy maintenance
Long season of interest
Retain several of the existing large shrubs
Open brief
The design:
Terrace the garden with sun loving plants set in gravel with stepping stones near the house. A low wall of lias stone gave a level lower garden with a balloon shaped lawn leading to a circular area paved with terracotta blocks. New smaller growing shrubs complement the existing mature plants.