Front gardens can have a hugely positive impact on how we feel. We walk alongside them every day, yet so often they are given over to car parking space.
For this Arts & Crafts-style house in Surrey, we created a garden that tipped the balance from cars to people, while complementing the period setting of the home and providing that all important sense of arrival.
The focal point of the design was a series of deep, curving steps and tiered borders that created a calm, verdant welcome, while retaining a necessary parking space. Using a single material for entrance steps can often look heavy and dominant, so we combined a variety of cuts and finishes in Yorkstone to add textural interest and compliment the stone lintels of the house. The steps were designed using repeats of the same detailing in each tread and riser. We placed eye-catching Yew balls alongside them, to balance out the structure and create a sense of rhythm as your feet move along the path. Taxus baccata mounds anchored the scheme and added scale to the main elevation of the house and the level change between the drive and front door.
The garden is south facing, so we chose Mediterranean-inspired plants to thrive in these tough conditions with a romantic selection of Roses around the door, all in a pretty palette of pinks and blues.
