Whilst a garden room was being created by Lille Villas the boys were busy building raised beds and retaining walls. Stepping stones were then laid, edged with star bricks that were dug up and reused from the original garden. We love recycling at Secret Garden, waste not, want not!
A Belfast sink was included in the garden design, as the garden room is to be used as a pottery studio. Planning permission would be required if the structure had running water, so a sink in the garden was the perfect idea.
Prior to the stepping stones being laid, the patio was finished off. Joey drilled through supports for the timber floating bench to be added to the raised bed. The patio tiles were sourced by our customer, who is an artist and has made trips to Morocco for inspiration.
Once the turf goes down the garden really begins to take shape. Jerry built a water feature incorporating copper piping, and Moroccan inspired ceramic tiles, which were also sourced by the customer. They wanted to have some colour in their garden on the water feature, but keeping a feeling of a modern Bristol garden. Once the edges of the water feature are rendered they will be painted white to give a fresh, crisp look. I love the fusion of Bristol meets Marrakech.
Whilst the water feature is being created, the planting scheme was discussed and we set into action. We went for a colour palette of purples, pinks, blues and white with pops of bright orange.
Our customer was keen to have a vibrant, lush vibe in the garden so we went for some large leaved plants such as Fig (Ficus Carica) and Fatsia Japonica, intermingled with Phoenix Palms, (Canary Island Date Palm), Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusen palm) and Phornium ‘Yellow Wave’ (New Zealand Flax). These will add structure and height to the garden.
In an L shaped border within the decking we planted a mixture of hebe’s and grasses, with a blue Passionflower (Passiflora caerulea) at the back to grow along the timber screen.
In the autumn bulbs such as Alliums, Tulips, Nerine’s, Crocus and Cyclamen will be planted throughout the garden to give colour and interest through the seasons. The hebe’s will form mounds with grasses swaying through, which will have a more organic, flowing appearance compared to the more structured raised beds.
Whilst I set to planting, Joey brought in pebbles to top dress the beds. We use a couple of different sizes to give a more natural feel. The pale coloured pebbles will suppress weeds, keep the roots cool and will allow sunlight to bounce off them around the garden.
Using vertical space in the garden is a must. A Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) was planted in the top raised bed to creep across the screen – it’s beautiful white flowers are heavily scented in the summer. A purple Wisteria floribunda (Japanese Wisteria) was planted to grow up the garden room, and a climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) under the slight shade at the back of the garden room.
I love arranging the plants and seeing the garden come to life. We chose four trees for this garden; Black Elder (Sambucus nigra), a Mountain Ash (Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’), a Pear (Pyrus communis ‘Concorde’) and a Cherry (Prunus avium ‘Stella’).
Pebbles were added to the pool of the water feature to soften the sound of the running water. What an enjoyable day working in this beautiful garden. Keep following us to see this garden completed next week!
Have a look on a previous post on our blog to see how this garden started out: https://www.secretgardenweb.co.uk/composite-decking-garden-design/
