A spacious, sunny garden with lots of room for play, Freya’s outdoor space had plenty to offer in terms of opportunity. East-facing, and therefore rewarded with evening sun, this garden needed to make the most of that treasured aspect. For two hard-working parents with young children, the brief was to create somewhere that was designed for grown-ups, but still child friendly.
Helpfully, the clean-lines of the original Victorian villa and its stylish renovation led naturally onto a similarly stylish and simple garden design. A large central lawn big enough for children to run around, accompanied by three separate seating areas – allowing Mum and Dad to follow the sun around the garden while watching on.
With the sharp lines of a straight path, large lawn and rectangular seating areas, we chose planting to help soften these lines – giving a clean but modern feel. The garden is gloriously open and spacious, but with blousy planting and tall towers of flowers, the space is softened – especially when looking out on it from indoors.
Vibrant, effervescent and aromatic planting typical of our Mediterranean theme was key to ensuring this garden felt like a holiday at home. In spring the beds will erupt with airy height plants like Thalictrum and, in late summer and October when this garden was photographed, Perovskia provide a similar effect – a key aspect of our designs that we’re so proud of: their ability to produce similar effects with different plants as each garden moves through the year. Ever-changing, but also unchanging in their approach.
The colours on display in this garden are, of course, packed with an array of blues and purples – another hallmark of our Mediterranean theme. Whether through Perovskia, Salvia or Geranium in the late summer or with flashes of delicate electric blue from Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ in spring, the garden will give an azure glow through the year.
With one side of the garden often in shade, but the rest in sun – this is a perfect example of how our themes can cater to both – with sun-loving plants in three of the beds, and shady-loving plants in the others.
To round off the Mediterranean vibe, we’ve introduced a row of Cypress trees along the shady side to give structure and to evoke these iconic verdant pinnacles across the Med.
Photo credit: Ed Maitland Smith / Dig (Taken October 2024)
