Ravenscourt Park
Created for a young couple, both hard working hospital consultants with a passion for plants, composting and their hen Pear, this garden needed two seating areas, one that is shaded all day from the overhanging trees in Ravenscourt Park, and another that receives afternoon and evening sun. The garden also needed a hidden space at the back for a large secure shed, several composting bins and a chicken coop.
The different zones are separated by yew hedging that will fill out over time and be clipped to give formal structure that will contrast with the softness and slightly wild feel of the perennial planting. Warm honed sandstone was used for the terraces and stepping-stones that connect one area to the next, tying the whole together.
The planting includes hot colours in the sunny beds that are picked up by the rust-coloured bark of the three new birch trees towards the rear, introduced not just for their colour but to connect the garden to the tree-filled park beyond.