Water often makes a garden as it adds an element of sound, reflection and movement and with children in mind, this garden design enjoys a bespoke water feature as its highlight. This was a family garden on a slightly sloping sight. They wanted to have a safe water feature for the children that would also allow for space to play and encourage wildlife. The images show the garden in the early stages of planting, however, when the grasses, iris, salvia’s and buxus hedging establish the water rill would be surrounded by attractive swathes of perennials through which the water would flow and cascade into the small pool below.
The client also specified that they wanted different spaces within the garden to sit, a lawn to play, privacy from overlooking houses and space in the garden to hide municipals like the garden shed, toys and compost bins. Hedging including Taxus bucatta, (English Yew), Carpinus betulus, (Hornbeam), and Buxus sempervirens (Box) hedging lend themselves to this role, adding a variety of verdant greens and winter interest, differing heights, screening and the main structural interest of the garden. A spacious mown lawn provides a wash of fresh green contrasting with the deeper green hedges and white stems of Betula Jacquemontii (Silver Birch).
The green of the garden makes this a very tranquil space that, whilst being great for kids, is easily adapted as the children grow to a mature and sophisticated garden space. The simplicity of the water feature creates a great focal feature, with the hedging allowing different views of the garden. Natural sandstone paving nestles up close to the house for seating and the occasional garden pot, adding pops of colour to the patio area.