Unlocking The Potential
When we first visited this garden, it was clear the garden required a lot loving care.. The upsetting part for us was we learnt the property owner has long-term ill health issues which is only going to get worse over time - which in turn had lead to the garden becoming unmanageable and useable.
The condition of the garden meant that the owner could not even sit in the patio area, as the patio had become unsafe to walk on; and they refused to open their living room curtains because they were ashamed of what the garden had become.
While the garden was in poor state, it was loaded with untapped potential with a lot of mature shrubs and trees that simply required a hard prune. On the patio was a large metal shed still full of contents but had collapsed and within the garden there was an area which contained items unknown under a tarpaulin.
Apart from the garden clearance both the patio needed to be recommissioned by re-grouting and making safe the uneven levels, along with restoring the grassed area.
While the scale of the project was huge, the biggest challenge was trying to work within a confined budget and trying to undertake as many of the tasks listed within the budget.
The first task was to clear both garden and patio areas which meant shifting through a lot redundant materials / tools and debris and assisting the client to sort cherished (some ruined) personal items from the metal shed. In the end a 16ft skip was completely filled with debris and garden waste which set the scene for the improvements.
To help make the garden more manageable for the client in terms of less maintenance, but also making the space more child friendly for their grandchildren; on the left hand side of the garden we put down a weed proof membrane along with covering it in bark chipping. The bark over time will rot down and help feed the soil but also provide a soft bed for young children to play on.
On the right of the garden, after being sculpted with a petrol mover, it exposed the poor condition of the remaining grass. The decision was taken to relay the turf. Unfortunately the budget did not allow for the ground to be cultivated but the ground was reasonably level. This mean we could easily level the ground with a combination of horse manure and compost.
As the project progressed we found out that the house was inherited from the owner's parents. They like their parents, enjoyed gardening but due to limited mobility was unable to do much. Early on in the project we spotted that the client had a number of left over decking boards from a previous construction project which were simply being left to waste.
Along with the decking boards, we spotted other redundant timbers including a handrail. We suggested and designed a raised planters with a walk way into the main garden from the patio.
The client fell in love with the proposal but funds were tight. So we re-negotiated the scheme of work and gently increased the budget to include this extra work. To help keep costs down we sourced other reclaimed timbers including thick palette wood.
Once the planters were built, we set about painting them, along with the fences and cabin at the rear of the garden. We opted to use grey and black in order to make the 'greenery' of the garden pop and help make everything single plant sing within the space.
Other features within the garden that were also done, a bespoke palette platform for a plastic lockable shed / lawn mover bay. exterior lighting over the raised planters, a sail, a inflatable hot-tub. Now the client is able to have her curtains open and sit out on the patio area and enjoy the view.
Sunbury, Surrey