MULTIPURPOSE URBAN GARDEN
Using clever design and planting, Pauline has transformed a blank canvas into an elegant, contemporary garden complete with social spaces, a cutting patch and a pond
BEFORE
The joy that a garden can bring to our lives can’t be underestimated. So just as much thought and consideration should go into its planning as we give to rooms inside the home. And, as with interior design, the best place to start is by deciding how the space is to be used; the targeted purpose will govern layout and furnishing choices. Pauline’s plot is a shining example of this. With clear and distinct zones for socialising, relaxing, and growing flowers for cutting, her garden is a gorgeous and functional oasis.
‘When I was looking for a new home years ago, some things were non-negotiable,’ she says. ‘The house had to be a renovation project and the garden a blank canvas, and it had to face south. I wanted a place which had sun.’ Pauline found what she was looking for in Bounds Green, north London, and immediately set about a major refurbishment of both house and garden together. ‘The garden was nothing more than a stretch of lawn with an old apple tree in the middle. I had my heart set on a clean, contemporary design which would also allow me to indulge my love of plants.’
Having studied garden design a few years earlier, Pauline was able to draw up a plan herself, and the contractors created her scheme in a couple of weeks at a cost of around £12,000. ‘I divided the garden into three main sections,’ she says, ‘with a deep planting bed close to the house to “bring the garden in” and a trellis towards the rear, which screens off a cutting patch. This means the whole space can’t be seen at once, which I like.’
Pauline wanted a large seating area in the centre, for eating and socialising, and designed a wide, angular path that leads through the space. She picked smooth sandstone paving in a light colour, along with rendered walls to provide a clean, unfussy and sleek look. ‘I chose slate chippings to blend in with the restrained and contemporary black and white colour palette that’s used throughout. The builders were horrified by the black fences at first. But as soon as they were finished, they loved it – the black really accentuates the vibrant green of the plants.’
The colour also blends in well with the Crittallstyle patio doors that open to the garden, and the dark brick edging to the steps leading through it. ‘I chose them to match the bricks used on the extension of the house; I think it works really nicely to unite the entire space.’
