Garden Tour: A Beautiful, Layered Design with Year-round Appeal
This modest city garden is a masterclass in making a plot look bigger and creating a haven that invites you in
Often, when a house is being renovated, the garden can become a bit of an afterthought. Not so with this plot behind a Victorian terrace in north London. “The owners wanted the garden to be the focal point as soon as you came through the door,” says Paul Duffy of GRDN, who, along with his colleague, Peter Robinson, designed this award-winning leafy haven.
Read on to see before and after photos and discover how the designers totally transformed the space.
Read on to see before and after photos and discover how the designers totally transformed the space.
The original design was a classic patch of lawn with straight, shallow borders. As you can see from this ‘before’ shot, there were some established plants, including three acers (two of which can be seen here on the right), which Paul kept and incorporated into the new design.
“We always try to work with established plants,” he says. “They can really give a garden that maturity from day one.”
Find a local garden designer on Houzz.
“We always try to work with established plants,” he says. “They can really give a garden that maturity from day one.”
Find a local garden designer on Houzz.
The new design has soft layers of vegetation and offers a meandering path to the office, which has made the plot seem much bigger, as the eye has so many places to rest along the way.
“We were trying to provide a space to have a glass of wine, but also with that element of a journey through it, with stopping spaces throughout to a destination,” Paul says. “It wasn’t a complex brief, but it was an extensive one catering to all those needs.”
“We were trying to provide a space to have a glass of wine, but also with that element of a journey through it, with stopping spaces throughout to a destination,” Paul says. “It wasn’t a complex brief, but it was an extensive one catering to all those needs.”
As the garden can be seen from the house, Paul and Peter designed the planting to look good all year round. “We didn’t want it to just be in bloom from May to August, so we aimed to get a balance of evergreen species,” Paul says.
The evergreens include Pittosporum; Asplenium and Polystichum ferns; Pachysandra terminalis; Sarcococca, and Fatsia japonica.
There are numerous layers and colours in the planting, which give the scheme depth. “Different tones, textures and forms – that’s what we were trying to achieve,” Paul says. The acers in particular bring different shades into the garden at different times, including red, orange and yellow.
The evergreens include Pittosporum; Asplenium and Polystichum ferns; Pachysandra terminalis; Sarcococca, and Fatsia japonica.
There are numerous layers and colours in the planting, which give the scheme depth. “Different tones, textures and forms – that’s what we were trying to achieve,” Paul says. The acers in particular bring different shades into the garden at different times, including red, orange and yellow.
The couple didn’t want a lawn. “A lot of our most interesting gardens don’t have lawns,” Paul says. “They have planting and a relationship between hard and soft spaces. Here, it was about trying to get that balance of hard and soft – keeping it very natural.”
This ‘before’ shot shows the ground prepared for the paving and water feature.
The owners chose concrete paving. “They liked the finish,” Paul says. He’s used two different sizes and laid them in different ways for subtle zoning. On the patio outside the house, 800mm x 400mm slabs are set vertically in a stretcher bond. The path, meanwhile, is formed of long, thin planks laid horizontally in a modern-looking stack bond.
Mind-your-own-business (Soleirolia soleirolii) is planted between the pavers to soften the path. “It does really well in little gaps,” Paul says. “It’s even taken itself into the bench at the back – it’s naturalised elements like that.”
There’s also some mossy Sagina subulata in places, seen here in the paler coloured greenery continuing on from the mind-your-own-business. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” he explains.
There’s also some mossy Sagina subulata in places, seen here in the paler coloured greenery continuing on from the mind-your-own-business. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” he explains.
The owners are a creative couple and wanted to bring in a few small sculptures. This piece adds soft curves and offers a drinking spot for birds. It sits nicely with the flowering Tiarella cordifolia behind and the pompom Hakonechloa macra grass.
A reclaimed wood bench is positioned outside the office. Its short timber feet sit on a couple of concrete pads to keep it off the damp ground.
“It fitted really well with the aesthetic and feel of the garden,” Paul says. “We had to get it through the house, though. Luckily, it was a direct route. We rolled it through on scaffolding poles.”
Gamma bench, Thors Design.
“It fitted really well with the aesthetic and feel of the garden,” Paul says. “We had to get it through the house, though. Luckily, it was a direct route. We rolled it through on scaffolding poles.”
Gamma bench, Thors Design.
A tree fern, which was already in place, offers a leafy view to the side of the garden office.
A water feature brings movement and sparkling light into the garden. It was built by the GRDN team on site from sheet steel painted black.
“It’s about half a metre in depth,” Paul says. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden. We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The mind-your-own-business dotted with Pachysandra terminalis has beautifully softened the edges, while Equisetum (horsetail) sprouts from the water.
“It’s about half a metre in depth,” Paul says. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden. We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The mind-your-own-business dotted with Pachysandra terminalis has beautifully softened the edges, while Equisetum (horsetail) sprouts from the water.
In this ‘before’ photo, you can see the spikes that hold the pebble in the newly created water trough. A pump was fitted underneath to propel the water up through the hole in the stone.
One of the skills good garden designers have is being able to visualise the scene when the plants have established. This shot, taken when the garden was newly planted, shows how Paul and Peter needed to see in their mind’s eye how the plants would spread and work together. “You have to let stuff establish and grow – give it the room,” Paul says.
Two years on, those small, spaced-out plants have developed into this glorious flow of colours, shapes and textures. And it’s truly a year-round delight.
“It’s lovely when it snows,” Paul says, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
Tell us…
What do you think of the way Paul and Peter have transformed this garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“It’s lovely when it snows,” Paul says, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
Tell us…
What do you think of the way Paul and Peter have transformed this garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple with a dog and a cat
Location North London
Property A Victorian terraced house
Garden dimensions 44 sq m
Designer Paul Duffy and Peter Robinson of GRDN
Photos by Alister Thorpe
The brief for the garden was twofold: as well as designing a stunning focal point that could be enjoyed from the house, the couple asked Paul and Peter to create a journey from the home to the office at the end of the space.