It’s essential that the plants and structure work hard in a small garden so that there’s always something interesting going on.

This was a small garden in need of structure and fresh planting, it just wasn’t reaching it’s potential.

The Brief was for the garden to have wheelchair access, a shady area for sitting out, some space for growing vegetables, to attract birds and to work in and grow plants.

The new garden is a lovely space with a mixture of ephemeral, colourful and structural plants. A path that’s wide enough for a wheelchair meanders through. The design also includes a new shed, a pergola for sitting under and enjoying a meal or a cup of tea. A compact vegetable garden with a shed and potting bench was incorporated at the end of the garden.
Cordon fruit trees, tall, airy grasses and perennials were planted against an open fence that divides the garden

These pictures show the planting only one year later

The small patch of grass in the front garden was removed and replaced with overlapping circles of shingle and planted with colourful plants, with interest at different times of the year and thrive in the poor soil.
A small front garden works well if there’s something to see all year round, it’s the one part of the garden that you probably walk through every day.