Small Town Garden

About This Project

A small town garden design to bring joy and wellbeing

“My small garden a year ago was a fenced in brown muddy puddle on a new-build site, with a small bicycle shed erected to the side. I was referred to Kate as the first step in transforming this outdoor mess into the garden of my dreams. A few weeks later I received a compact and harmonious garden design and planting plan which was duly executed in early spring. I can only recommend the service I received from Tapestry Design Studios. The garden and planting plans were of such high quality that they were framed and hung by the kitchen door leading to the garden.”  Mrs FB

About this urban back garden

This small space sits behind a three storey town house in a residential road. Merely 5m x 7m, it is north-east facing and overlooked by neighbours. However, Kate saw it’s potential to become a delightful, calming place with a relatively low build cost.

What the client asked for

What our client wanted more than anything was a peaceful retreat that wouldn’t be difficult to manage. She needed privacy whilst in the garden and also wanted to enjoy the view from her upstairs windows.

How we tackled this small town garden design

Rather than try to grow a lawn in this small space, Kate decided to design a garden without grass. A clever layout plan created structure and a sense of journey. The arrangement of curved paths and flower beds also looked amazing when viewed from above.

A small seating area was positioned in the far corner of the garden, where it receives the most sunshine. Privacy and a focal point was added with a tall Malus (crab apple) tree which has gorgeous blossom in springtime.

Materials and planting

Materials were chosen for their simplicity. It’s very easy to overwhelm a small space and so Kate recommended simple gravel paths, edged with cobbles. Cobbles have a lovely traditional look and feel, but just as importantly, they allowed the hard landscaping to be done as cost-effectively as possible.

The focus of this garden has to be the planting. Low maintenance but sumptuous, Kate recommended a mix of evergreens for all year round structure. Flowering shrubs and climbers were chosen for a splash of excitement. Whilst low growing perennials created a soft underlay that is irresistible to wildlife.  Our client was keen to include scented plants in the mix, and so the area around the bench is planted with aromatic lavender, thyme, rosemary and honeysuckle.

This is a garden that will get better and better as the plants settle in and mature. It was a delight to work on and the team at Holland Landscapes did a fantastic job of installing it.

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