Yard of the Week: Leafy, Layered Backyard Haven on a Small Plot
See how two landscape designers turned a small London yard into an inviting outdoor retreat that feels bigger than it is
When a house is being renovated, the landscape often can become a bit of an afterthought. Not so with this yard behind a Victorian home in North London. “The owners wanted the garden to be the focal point as soon as you came through the door,” says Paul Duffy, 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 landscape designers totally transformed the space.
Before: The original yard was classic, with straight, shallow borders. As you can see from this “before” shot, there were some established plants, including three maples (two of which can be seen here on the right), which Duffy 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.”
After: The new design has soft layers of vegetation and a meandering path to the office, which make the yard seem much bigger than it is, as the eye has so many places where it can rest.
“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,” Duffy 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,” Duffy says. “It wasn’t a complex brief, but it was an extensive one catering to all those needs.”
As the yard can be seen from the house, Duffy and Robinson designed the plantings to look good 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,” Duffy says. The evergreens include Asplenium and Polystichum ferns, pittosporum, Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis, USDA zones 5 to 8, find your zone); Sarcococca and paperplant (Fatsia japonica, zones 8 to 11).
The plantings have numerous layers and colors, which give the design depth. “Different tones, textures and forms — that’s what we were trying to achieve,” Duffy says. The maples in particular bring different shades, including red, orange and yellow, into the garden at different times.
The plantings have numerous layers and colors, which give the design depth. “Different tones, textures and forms — that’s what we were trying to achieve,” Duffy says. The maples in particular bring different shades, including red, orange and yellow, into the garden at different times.
The couple didn’t want a lawn. “A lot of our most interesting [landscapes] don’t have lawns,” Duffy 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.”
Before: Here you can see the ground prepared for the paving and water feature.
After: The owners chose concrete paving, as they liked the finish. Duffy used two sizes and laid the pavers in different ways for subtle zoning. On the patio outside the house, 2½-by-1½-foot slabs are set vertically in a stretcher bond pattern. The path, meanwhile, is formed of long, thin planks laid horizontally in a modern-looking stack bond pattern.
Baby’s tears (Soleirolia soleirolii, zones 9 to 11) is planted between the pavers to soften the path. “It does really well in little gaps,” Duffy says. “It’s even taken itself into the bench at the back — it [naturalizes] elements like that.”
There’s also some Irish moss (Sagina subulata, zones 4 to 8) in places, seen here in the paler greenery continuing on from the baby’s tears. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” Duffy says.
There’s also some Irish moss (Sagina subulata, zones 4 to 8) in places, seen here in the paler greenery continuing on from the baby’s tears. “It’s just to add a bit of interest,” Duffy says.
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 in front of the flowering foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia, zones 4 to 9) and with the pompom Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra, zones 4 to 9).
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Shop for garden statues and other yard art on Houzz
A reclaimed-wood bench is positioned outside the office. Its short wood feet sit on a couple of concrete pads to keep it off the damp ground. “It fit really well with the aesthetic and feel of the garden,” Duffy says. “We had to get it through the house, though. Luckily, it was a direct route. We rolled it through on scaffolding poles.”
Bench: Gamma, Thors Design
Bench: Gamma, Thors Design
A tree fern, which was already in place, offers a leafy view on one side of the backyard 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 1½ feet deep. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden,” Duffy says. “We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The baby’s tears dotted with Japanese pachysandra has beautifully softened the edges, while horsetail (Equisetum sp.) sprouts from the water.
Note: Check to see if baby’s tears and pachysandra are invasive in your region and with your site conditions before choosing them for a project.
It’s about 1½ feet deep. “The owners wanted to use the large pebble, which was already in the garden,” Duffy says. “We drilled a hole through it to create a trickle fountain.”
The baby’s tears dotted with Japanese pachysandra has beautifully softened the edges, while horsetail (Equisetum sp.) sprouts from the water.
Note: Check to see if baby’s tears and pachysandra are invasive in your region and with your site conditions before choosing them for a project.
Before: In this photo, you can see the spikes that hold the pebble in the newly created water trough. A pump underneath propels the water up through the hole in the stone.
Before: One of the skills good landscape designers have is being able to visualize a space when the plants become established. This shot, taken when the garden was newly planted, shows how Duffy and Robinson needed to envision how the plants would spread and work together. “You have to let stuff establish and grow — give it the room,” Duffy says.
After: Two years on, those small, spaced-out plants have developed into this glorious flow of colors, shapes and textures. And the garden truly is a year-round delight.
“It’s lovely when it snows,” Duffy says, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
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“It’s lovely when it snows,” Duffy says, “seeing the white sitting on the foliage, which is there even in December and January.”
More on Houzz
Browse thousands of patio photos
Read more landscape stories
Hire a landscape contractor
Shop for your outdoor spaces
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with a dog and a cat
Location: North London
Size: 473½ square feet (44 square meters)
Landscape designers: Paul Duffy and Peter Robinson of GRDN
The brief for the landscape design was twofold: design a stunning focal point that could be enjoyed from the house, and create a journey from the home to the backyard home office.
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