Houzz Tours
Born on Houzz
Garden Tour: An Urban Plot With No Soil Gets a Nature-rich Revamp
This garden had no scope for flowerbeds or a lawn, but its designer has turned it into a child-friendly wildlife haven
The brief for this small urban garden had one immovable parameter – a suspended paving system. The house, a new-build in London’s Olympic Park, sits over an underground car park, meaning there was no possibility for a soil-based lawn, nor any beds.
The homeowners – a young family – had found garden designer Melanie Hick on Houzz and liked her plant-led work. In their initial approach, though, they suggested artificial grass, thinking it was the only option for some play space for the children, but Melanie discouraged them. “The Society of Garden Designers is campaigning to steer people away from artificial grass, so I helped them to build a brief that was much more sustainable and eco-friendly,” she says.
The resulting design is an enveloping, wildlife-friendly haven with naturalistic planting that’s full of intrigue for the children, including built-in bug houses and containers for collecting their finds from nature walks.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The homeowners – a young family – had found garden designer Melanie Hick on Houzz and liked her plant-led work. In their initial approach, though, they suggested artificial grass, thinking it was the only option for some play space for the children, but Melanie discouraged them. “The Society of Garden Designers is campaigning to steer people away from artificial grass, so I helped them to build a brief that was much more sustainable and eco-friendly,” she says.
The resulting design is an enveloping, wildlife-friendly haven with naturalistic planting that’s full of intrigue for the children, including built-in bug houses and containers for collecting their finds from nature walks.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
Before Melanie started work, the space looked rather stark, with no greenery at all.
Having to keep the existing porcelain paving, however, was no bad thing. “Reducing waste and reusing existing materials in any garden is a huge sustainability saving,” she says. “You’re not creating more landfill. And, as this is a new-build, those tiles are new, so it would have been a terrible waste.”
Having to keep the existing porcelain paving, however, was no bad thing. “Reducing waste and reusing existing materials in any garden is a huge sustainability saving,” she says. “You’re not creating more landfill. And, as this is a new-build, those tiles are new, so it would have been a terrible waste.”
Now there’s more greenery in place, the tiles fit in nicely, toning well with the additional features. “All of the tones and colours in the [owners’ existing] seating, new bench and gabions are naturalistic,” Melanie says. “This helps to create a connection to nature that [often] doesn’t exist in a new-build environment.”
Find reviewed garden designers in your area and see photos of their previous projects on Houzz.
Find reviewed garden designers in your area and see photos of their previous projects on Houzz.
The two bespoke Corten steel planters either side of the bench fit this theme, too, and will weather more with age. The arch in between will eventually be covered by the Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine) planted behind it up the fence. “Greening up the boundaries makes the space feel more enveloping,” Melanie says.
Behind one of chairs, on the right, Melanie has planted herbs that the owners can use for cooking and the children can explore.
The purple flowers are Salvia ‘Amistad’ (at the back) and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (on the right).
Behind one of chairs, on the right, Melanie has planted herbs that the owners can use for cooking and the children can explore.
The purple flowers are Salvia ‘Amistad’ (at the back) and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (on the right).
Here, you can see the same area before Melanie got to work.
The tall grasses and jasmine will soften the top of the fence as they grow, as well as providing some screening and a sense of privacy from the neighbouring flats.
The tall grasses and jasmine will soften the top of the fence as they grow, as well as providing some screening and a sense of privacy from the neighbouring flats.
Because she couldn’t include any beds, Melanie has bordered the space with deep planters – lightweight fibreglass ones, due to the suspended nature of the floor, teamed with the two Corten steel ones. That doesn’t stop the space feeling lush and wild, though.
Grasses play a big part in that. Here, you can see Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’, underplanted with the shorter Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’. “The miscanthus – with a pink flower – creates height and sound,” Melanie says. “The wind swishes through it and the height of it makes it feel private, but it’s also translucent, so doesn’t block light.”
Grasses play a big part in that. Here, you can see Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’, underplanted with the shorter Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’. “The miscanthus – with a pink flower – creates height and sound,” Melanie says. “The wind swishes through it and the height of it makes it feel private, but it’s also translucent, so doesn’t block light.”
At the house end of the garden, Melanie has planted shade-loving ferns, anemones and Liriope muscari ‘Royal Purple’. Behind, the same jasmine plant seen at the back of the garden creeps along steel cabling on the fence.
She highlights how good the design would be for a rental property, as everything is moveable.
More: What’s Your Dream Garden Style? Take our quiz
She highlights how good the design would be for a rental property, as everything is moveable.
More: What’s Your Dream Garden Style? Take our quiz
Outside the house, there’s another of the gabion bug hotels Melanie incorporated for the children. Most of the contents came from a local architectural salvage yard. There are also modern bricks that match the house, more Scottish pebbles and bee bricks from the RHS. “The hexagonal ones are drainpipes,” Melanie says.
If the owners wanted to use the gabions as additional seating, they could easily add wooden tops.
“Maybe it’s because we’re so used to grass being clipped, particularly in urban gardens, that tall grass just feels wild, and these interesting grasses seem to have the effect of making nature feel closer to home,” Melanie says.
The homeowners are delighted at her transformation – and left this glowing review on Melanie’s Houzz profile: “Melanie is absolutely fantastic, and created a stunning garden for me and my family. She transformed a blank, new-build terrace into a lush garden that is inviting (and low-maintenance) year round. So delighted.”
Melanie adds, “They said I really listened and understood that it was a garden for the children as well as the adults. They absolutely love it.”
Tell us…
What do you think of how Melanie has created this wildlife-friendly urban garden? Let us know in the Comments.
The homeowners are delighted at her transformation – and left this glowing review on Melanie’s Houzz profile: “Melanie is absolutely fantastic, and created a stunning garden for me and my family. She transformed a blank, new-build terrace into a lush garden that is inviting (and low-maintenance) year round. So delighted.”
Melanie adds, “They said I really listened and understood that it was a garden for the children as well as the adults. They absolutely love it.”
Tell us…
What do you think of how Melanie has created this wildlife-friendly urban garden? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A young family with two young children
Location The Olympic Park, east London
Property A three-bed, new-build terraced house
Garden dimensions Around 5m x 5m
Designer Melanie Hick of Melanie Hick Garden Design
Landscaper Garden Tamers
Project year 2022
Photos by Melanie Hick
“To move the clients’ thinking on from plastic grass being the most child-friendly option, I focused on the importance of play and a connection to nature in childhood,” Melanie says.
As such, she designed a series of large bug hotels, contained inside gabions and positioned around the garden. Here, you can see one of them, alongside a bench seat with more insect-enticing detail beneath it in the form of logs.
The gabions are intended not only for insects to enjoy but also for the children’s nature finds – leaves, pine cones, twigs. In this one, pre-filled with Scottish pebbles, they’ve already poked in a cardboard tube. There are no rules!
The children also have large, squishy outdoor bean bags (not shown) and a flat surface for scooting around on and playing with toys.