Garden of the Week
When a young family approached garden designer Dug MacLeod to help transform their long, narrow city garden from a muddy area with broken concrete paving to a place where they would all be happy to spend time, he knew he would have his work cut out.
His clients wanted to avoid ripping everything out and starting again, preferring instead to work with what was already in the garden to create a sustainable, naturalised plot that’s wildlife and family-friendly.
This chimes with Dug’s philosophy. “The way I work is to utilise and source our materials from on site, from the plants, paving, hardcore and soil, and only then do we bring in new materials as needed,” he explains.
The garden did present some tricky issues. “The family had extended their kitchen out to create a dining area, and this put it at least half a metre above garden level, which sloped away from the house. They wanted to connect the garden to their home, and to be able to use the garden for living and entertaining – when Scottish climes allow,” says Dug.
He created three circular mini patios descending to the main patio area. These are softened with small grasses such as Carex elata, Stipa tenuissima and blue-toned Festuca glauca. Fragrant herbs are planted nearby, with thyme, rosemary and sage sitting alongside lavender and chives. A selection of fruit bushes, such as cranberries and loganberries, offer a modern version of a kitchen garden.
The mini patios wrap around a circular lawn, which provides a neatly-mowed contrast to the wilder areas. An existing garishly coloured, plastic playhouse was transformed by replacing the roof with a wooden frame, deep enough to add a lining and soil for plants to grow. Dug reused five clumps of plants which
had been in the original garden, including wild strawberries, hesperantha and daylilies.
A large, mature silver birch tree was already in situ. “This was a real asset and served as a pivot to the design,” says Dug. “It effectively separates the long, narrow garden into different areas, and it’s a focal point which helped to set the naturalised feel we were aiming for. Tying it in with the existing bamboo along the right-hand side of the garden was a bigger challenge, as this isn't a native plant, but it does help to create a superb jungly feel.”
The main path through the garden is made with cobblestones, which were created by Dug by taking the existing scruffy slabs, cutting them, then grinding, polishing and finishing to make a smart new surface.
To the right, a ‘secret’ short woodland path runs past the birch tree, to a play area with rustic monkey bars, a swing and a slide, which is a great favourite with the couple’s children and their friends. At the end of the garden, the fence was repaired and augmented with extra timber, and a simple pergola was added to create structure, and to prevent the garden from petering out. A rambling rose was planted at one end of the pergola, and a Clematis armandii at the other. “I do tend to plant with a ‘see what does best’ approach,” says Dug.
Three months after it was completed, the recycled garden was already filling out and looking mature. The family say they all spend more time outside. “In a small but enthusiastic way we’ve become gardeners. We enjoyed our first home-grown fruit and veg this year, and we’ve discovered the joys of outdoor dining, although we’ve had to run for emergency shelter from the elements more than once!”