IN THE GARDEN WITH…
AT Ealing, west London
GARDEN SIZE 5.7m x 6.2m (19x20ft)
SITE South-facing SOIL Improved neutral loam
GARDEN FEATURES Stylish front garden with generous borders; use of traditional materials; evergreen structural plants and topiary; curving paths and circular raised brick beds; wheelie bin storage; plants for seasonal interest including spring bedding and tulips; fragrant climbing jasmine; statement pots; bicycle sculpture
CONTACT Nick or Douglas for commissions 07976 711047; www.thedistinctivegardener.com
Awell-designed, plant-filled front garden not only creates a warm welcome for the owners and visitors, it can also enhance the whole street. Here traditional materials and exuberant planting come together to create an elegant garden with plenty of colour and kerb appeal.
“The garden belongs to an Edwardian house on a very elegant street in west London,” explains designer Nick Gough, who worked on the project with his colleague Douglas Vieira. “We created the design in 2017 for two sisters. The house had undergone major renovation work, and when we started drawing up plans it was a building site.
“I’d already planted the rear garden, which is very contemporary, as is the interior of the house. The front garden required a different approach: our brief was to use plants to provide visual interest all year round, but it also had to work in harmony with the Edwardian facade of the house and its neighbours.”
The overall design is based on a series of curved paths and circular brick beds, with yew balls continuing the circle theme. “We decided not to have a conventional path straight to the front door,” says Nick. “Instead we built a long curving path, which sweeps towards the front door from the gate, taking the owners and visitors on a journey past generous borders planted for evergreen structure and seasonal colour.
“We had to be careful in our choice of hard landscaping materials to make sure the design wouldn’t jar. We used traditional block pavers to tie in with the house bricks and added extra interest and detail by edging the path and borders with bricks. To the side of the house we’ve laid the same bricks every metre or so, running across the path, for continuity.”
The pavers are laid so they allow rain water to soak into the flowerbeds
Mitigating the effects of heavy rain has become a crucial factor in urban garden design. “The pavers are laid so they allow water to soak away into the flowerbeds,” explains Nick. “We always ensure our designs include plenty of planted beds for the water to run into.”
Ornate metal railings are in keeping with the architectural detailing of the house, forming an attractive boundary along the top of a low brick wall. These are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Mole’s Breath – a lovely mid-tone grey.
As with most front gardens, the clients needed somewhere to store their wheelie bins. “We installed a wooden bin store
near the front gate and painted it the same colour as the railings for continuity.”
Due to all the building work, the soil was in a poor state when Nick and Douglas started planting. “We dug in organic matter, and because the clients lead busy lives, added an integrated watering system so they wouldn’t need to use a hose or watering can.”
It was important that the garden provided seasonal colour throughout the year. “For winter, we’ve planted evergreen topiary including a standard holly, yew balls and Ilex crenata as low hedging. We don’t use box now because of the problems with blight and box tree moth. Shots of winter colour come from the purple-red leaves of bergenia and vibrant stems of cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ and ‘Sibirica’.”
In spring the garden is a riot of colour from early perennials. “We’ve used the zingy yellow bracts of Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’, aquilegia ‘Swan’, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ and the vivid pink blooms of bergenia ‘Eroica’ interspersed with ‘Purple Flag’ and ‘Grand Perfection’ tulips. We treat the tulips as annuals, replacing them when they’ve finished f lowering with summer bedding and planting new bulbs each autumn. Alliums take over from the tulips and for summer interest there are colourful, longflowering perennials such as geum, helenium, salvia and hardy geraniums.”
Nick and Douglas also wove into their design plants with contrasting foliage textures, such as spiky Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’, broad, leathery bergenia and the upright fronds of fern Dryopteris atrata. Together they create a tactile carpet of groundcover.
Other details include a metal bike sculpture chosen by the clients, which rests against a standard holly, giving a sense of fun to the space and creating a focal point. “We also have containergrown star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, scrambling up a trellis panel by the porch, providing a fragrant welcome on warm summer evenings,” says Nick. “And there are pots of hardy succulents on the bay window ledges.
“The clients also requested a bit of privacy on the left-hand side of the garden so I planted a multi-stem Amelanchier lamarckii in the bed. Not only does this provide some height, but also it offers a delicate canopy of attractive bronze leaves in spring, blossom March-April and fantastic autumn leaf colour.” ✿
Plants with contrasting textures create a tactile carpet of groundcover