Phoenix

Like so much of our work, ‘Phoenix’ was transformative in different ways.

Our clients were keen gardeners, and had invested much time and love into planting, tending and nurturing trees and plants they’d added to their modest walled garden over the years. More recently, however, serious illness and the burden of one becoming the other’s full-time carer meant that the garden had deteriorated – and their cherished outside space had become another burden.

Our clients regularly sourced plants from our friends at Garden Sage Nursery, who got in touch with us to help.

We spent time talking with our clients, but most importantly listening to understand what was needed; physical limitations meant that year-round accessibility was essential, as was a shady spot to be able to enjoy the colour, scents and sounds of summer.

We set about removing plants that couldn’t be saved; wherever possible, we moved others to different locations, creatively maintaining the existing trees and plants before introducing plenty of new planting in bold groups with strong structure, texture and colour. We added iron accessories, revamped a shaded seating pergola area and planted vines with flowering scented evergreens to form new ‘living walls’.

We removed the front section of the lower garden, built new brick retaining walls and wide, deep stone steps with an iron work balustrade to facilitate access. A feature brick curved path was created to link the shaded seating and dining area to the steps and lower patio, allowing firm dry access year-round access. Finally, a small-shaped lawn was drained and installed to add a lush of green to the white stems of the birch trees.

This was an enormously satisfying project for everyone but most of all for our lovely clients, who had fallen back in love with their garden, the wildlife and their treasured outside space.