Most people know what they want in their garden – they just don’t know how to make it work and look good. A typical remit might include a space for entertaining, a lawn, some borders, a place for cars, one or more garden buildings and a space for domestic necessities. Older gardens may no longer be fit for purpose – we have more vehicles, have fewer full-time gardeners and are often less inclined to spend time working in our gardens. Buildings might have been added ad-hoc to our surroundings.
The job of the garden designer is to unify these different elements, integrating the flow of movement from the house to the garden and from one part of the garden to another. Some views are desirable, others not; with a playful approach, a design can obscure, define and enhance. To be successful, it must be practical and as simple as possible. Layers of complexity should only be added if they help to tell the overall story and the scale of the garden should complement those of the existing buildings and their environment. All hard landscaping ought to be of the highest quality. It is a false economy to stint on paths and walls whose good design and execution will give many years of service and pleasure, as is evident in many venerable old gardens.
