Garden Tour: A Small Urban Garden is Softened and Zoned
A ‘blank canvas’ garden becomes a lush green and inviting space for entertaining and relaxing
The owners of this east London cottage had just had their kitchen extended when they called on Paul Duffy of GRDN to design their front and back gardens*. “After the building work, they were left with a blank canvas,” he says. “They wanted something useable, but also to have a nice view from the back, as there’s a lot of glazing.”
With a three-storey old factory behind it, the rear garden was enclosed, but the look was very industrial. “The owners wanted it softened a bit and to have a green space within the city where they could relax and entertain,” Paul says. “Now they absolutely love it.”
*Check out the beautifully wild garden Paul designed for the front of this house.
With a three-storey old factory behind it, the rear garden was enclosed, but the look was very industrial. “The owners wanted it softened a bit and to have a green space within the city where they could relax and entertain,” Paul says. “Now they absolutely love it.”
*Check out the beautifully wild garden Paul designed for the front of this house.
“It’s a very small space, but we always try to achieve different zones,” Paul says. An area decked in balau hardwood near the house provides room for a dining table.
“The transition [to the seating area at the back] is broken up with the planting area and by bringing in different materials,” he says.
Bamboo in a planter at the back of the garden greens up the expanse of brick that looms over it, while an L-shaped bench provides generous seating for a space so small.
A Fatsia japonica, dangling over the short side of the bench, continues the jungly theme.
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“The transition [to the seating area at the back] is broken up with the planting area and by bringing in different materials,” he says.
Bamboo in a planter at the back of the garden greens up the expanse of brick that looms over it, while an L-shaped bench provides generous seating for a space so small.
A Fatsia japonica, dangling over the short side of the bench, continues the jungly theme.
Find a local garden designer on Houzz today.
The bamboo is underplanted with Hakonechloa macra, a soft perennial Japanese forest grass that spills over the edges of the container. “It really softens the back of the bench and it can cope with bamboo roots, as it’s a hardy grass,” Paul says.
Just visible on the left, screening another expanse of brick, is a multi-stem Prunus serrulata.
Just visible on the left, screening another expanse of brick, is a multi-stem Prunus serrulata.
This plan of the garden shows the zones clearly. Paul has added a dining table to show how it would fit in.
Mind-your-own-business (Soleirolia soleirolii) creeps along between the decking and paving. “We use it quite a lot; it softens the interface,” Paul says.
Also along this side of the garden is an Acer palmatum, seen on the right here. “It’s a really good garden feature tree,” Paul says. “They give a nice canopy and it fits well with the theme of the planting, which has lots of tones and textures.”
On the left here Paul’s planted a purple Sambuucus. “These get big as well,” he says.
A Trachelospermum jasminoides climbs along the fence. “We tend to put those on both sides, as they’re evergreen, so provide good coverage year-round, and have nice, scented flowers,” he explains. “[Having] lots of evergreen species [is] important – especially in a small garden – so the owners can see greenery all year round.”
On the left here Paul’s planted a purple Sambuucus. “These get big as well,” he says.
A Trachelospermum jasminoides climbs along the fence. “We tend to put those on both sides, as they’re evergreen, so provide good coverage year-round, and have nice, scented flowers,” he explains. “[Having] lots of evergreen species [is] important – especially in a small garden – so the owners can see greenery all year round.”
There’s more Hakonechloa macra here, spilling onto the decking and paving and blurring the hard edges.
More: 21 Lush and Secluded Foliage Gardens
More: 21 Lush and Secluded Foliage Gardens
The large-leaved plant here is a Rodgersia.
The paving is from the Netherlands and has quite a lot of recycled concrete in it. “We went for a stack bond layout; this gives it more of a contemporary look than the traditional stretcher bond pattern,” Paul says.
600x400 concrete paving slabs in Grey, Schellevis.
600x400 concrete paving slabs in Grey, Schellevis.
This shot was taken soon after the garden was first planted up and shows a dome-shaped Pittosporum tenuifolium in the foreground, plus some small, delicate Tiarella, which Paul says has a long flowering time – also handy in a small garden.
The fencing and rendered base of the bench are painted black to tie in with the charred timber cladding on the back of the extension.
The grille surrounded by a flush concrete plinth in front of the doors forms the top of a lightwell.
The grille surrounded by a flush concrete plinth in front of the doors forms the top of a lightwell.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite planting idea from this small urban space? Let us know in the Comments.
What’s your favourite planting idea from this small urban space? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A young couple, now expecting their first child
Location Bethnal Green, east London
Property A Georgian worker’s cottage
Garden dimensions 6.4m x 4.7m
Designers Paul Duffy and Peter Robinson of GRDN
Project year August 2021
Photos by Peter Robinson
“Before we started, it was a bit of a mud patch; there was nothing in it,” Paul says. “In terms of boundaries, there was the brick wall and timber fencing and a really compromised fence to one side. They had a tiny bit of paving that had been used as a dumping ground by the builders, a bit of soil, and not much vegetation. It was a really good blank canvas.”
The aim was to break up the petite plot by creating soft zones using different materials, rather than dividing it with anything too solid.