Think, create & maintain outdoor spaces in London
Based in Fulham
07970 359 313
Square Garden Design

Portfolio Category: Front Garden

November 16, 2018 0 Comments
Virginie Vallée

Victorian Front Garden in Barnes

Victorian mosaic Path

The owners of this Victorian house in Barnes wanted to enhance their front garden.

The existing Cotinus was dominating the space and casting shade into their living room. The local council gave the permission to remove it.

A new brick wall matching the brick bond of the house has been built. The Victorian mosaic path with a black and white cherckerboard pattern reflects the style of the house.

Reclaimed blue clay Victorian garden tile edging all around the beds and path brings adds to the Victorian style of the garden.

Mediterranean style planting

Although irrigation was put in place to help with the establishing of the plants, the owners wished to have a low maintenance informal planting that could sustain the south facing aspect.

The wavy edged gray-green leaves of Pittosporum tenuifolium Elizabeth soften the spiky form of the Phoenix canariensis.

The path is edged with a repetition of lavander and Hebe Red Edge which blue grey leaves margined with red reflect the colour of the rest of the planting.

 

 

 

January 6, 2018 0 Comments
Virginie Vallée

Basement in Fulham

This house in Fulham has two main entrances, one on the raised ground floor and the other one in the basement. As the owners are mainly using the basement door, they decided to bring up their front garden basement to a more contemporary and long lasting design. Without going into too much work, they were looking for a solution to  address the issues they were encountering in this shady basement in Fulham. It was very difficult to keep the white painted walls look neat and tidy as these were quickly getting green.

Cladding of the walls and vaults

Square Garden Design came up with the idea of cladding the outside of the shed and walls with composite fascia boards from DesignBoard.  Composite decking has the merit of being easy to clean, highly scratch and fade resistant, and algae proof.

This was all the owner was looking for : a robust, durable and contemporary solution.

Although the idea sounded simple to implement, we quickly found the conditions of the walls and the existing doors of the shed were going to be a challenge to work with. Grovewood Joinery made an ingenuous use of the material provided and cut the boards in two different widths according to our design in their workshop in Wembley.

Boards are laid horizontally to make the space feel bigger and fixed to wooden battens with clips so that not a single screw is visible.

Grovewood Joinery fixed the boards with the highest level of precision for a finish that exceeded the owner’s expectations.

Paving 

Belgian Blue Stone has been chosen for the floor, known for its low porosity that makes it resistant to frost and pollution. Belgian Blue stone paving are easy to clean and have the particularity of being low maintenance and are a good alternative to sandstone.

Planting 

Evergreen planting for a year round interest, with Camelias, variegated Fatsia and Ilex crenata balls are planted in grey and black pots.

 

 

 

 

October 24, 2017 0 Comments
Virginie Vallée

Front Garden in Barnes

The owners of this property in Barnes decided to bring up their front garden as their back garden was being totally re-configured.

The driveway and frontage of this corner house in Barnes had to be kept uncluttered to allow maximum parking space. Minimalism, practicality as well as simplicity were required by the owner.

A single design flow had to link the front garden with the newly built contemporary back garden.

Bespoke garden joinery : bin shed and fencing

Boundary with the neighbour’s front garden is screened with a bespoke slatted fence and gate that seamlessly blend with the design at the back.The mixed hedging plants has been replaced with a newly planted hedge of evergreen Osmanthus x burkwoodii. The strong fragrance of its white flowers in Spring delights the pedestrians.

Wheelie bins and recycling boxes are neatly stored in a bespoke shed made of Accoya.

All the joinery work was accurately built and installed by the team of Ark Joinery Project.

Steps and paving

Steps in front of one of the two entrances have been redesigned to create cleaner lines. Portland cast stone match the colour of the house window ledges.

On the other corner of the house, Victorian tiles in front of the main entrance have been kept. New porcelain tiles connect the front and the back garden by creating visual harmony.

Pots and window boxes

Large Zinc pots planted with evergreen shrubs frame the two entrance doors.

Made to measure window boxes spray painted in the same colour as the doors soften the frontage of this house with seasonal bedding plants.