Hertfordshire
Garden Designs
Here, the clients’ brief was to rethink the entire garden and make it more useable for themselves and their young children. This house is an architect-designed building made of yellow Hertfordshire brick, with a big turret that goes all the way up the front. It’s a bit of a one-off and has a strong presence.
The house and terrace are raised up on the site and have incredible views, however, there was no real connection between the building and the wider landscape. To make the house feel part of the garden and draw the family out we have created a new terrace and big open areas for the children. We’ve kept the main view but have used a series of lines and layers to create a sense of connection to the landscape. There are large windows on the back of the house, so we designed arbours to create a bit more privacy.
We have opted for strong links between the inside-outside of the house and used the paving in the kitchen is used outside too. Building styles vary around the site so there’s a nice blend of traditional and contemporary.
We’ve used the planting as a way of making the building feel more connected to the site, however, to it’s been all about precise placement of large shrubs and trees to avoid blocking the wonderful view. We’ve also used large, clipped yew forms through the terrace to give interest through the year and leads the eye.
In the main, the garden in quite simple, however, we’ve allowed for it to evolve more if needed be.
