Family Garden in East London with Water Feature
Our brief for this project was to unify the space, incorporating the office at the end of the garden with the house and garden with a pleasing view from all vantage points. It also had to be child-friendly, with spaces to climb and play, without compromising on style.
The new garden has two seating areas. Directly outside the patio doors is a Modak Indian sandstone patio laid in a random pattern and large enough to accommodate an outdoor sofa and chairs. Cutting into this patio and leading down the centre of the garden is a hardwood decking walkway with a step up in the middle to allow for the change in levels.
Installed in the walkway is a 300mm wide stainless steel water rill, fed by a stainless steel water blade set into a slate V-tile clad feature wall. The water runs down the rill to feed into a pebble filled channel.
A large Trachycarpus fortunei placed on the corner of the patio creates a focal point to the space.
And towards the rear of the main garden a “monkey bar” pergola is installed parallel with the span of the existing building, with decked block steps constructed behind the feature wall to allow access to the bars above. Underneath the pergola a strip of artificial lawn will provide a soft landing.
A second smaller Indian sandstone patio runs along the front of the building at the back. A decorative moulded timber screen creates a secret area at the rear of the garden and hides the storage area from view.
Planting in the garden is mainly whites and yellows with the odd splash of orange. Tropical leaves, silvery evergreens, long flowering perennials and tall yellow spires provide a full planting scheme with year round interest.
Fitness stuff incorporated