Small Back Garden Design
Princes Road, Wimbledon
South-west London
A low-maintenance, geometric back garden design with gravel and kitchen gardens, fruit trees & storage
I designed this small, urban, gravel and kitchen garden for this family home to complement the converted extension - an impressive floor to ceiling casement window facing directly onto the garden.
With their children now grown up and no longer needing the trampoline, the couple felt it was time to fulfil their long-held desire for a kitchen garden, where they could grow their own vegetables and enjoy outdoor dining on a sunny terrace.
The Challenge
The original garden felt small and uninspiring and was overlooked by neighbouring flats.
It was effectively a blank canvas, ripe for the expression of new and creative ideas!
As the garden was often waterlogged, we began by digging a 2.5m deep hole into the heavy clay soil to accommodate a submerged soakaway and aid drainage, to allow future planting to flourish.
Once the underground work was complete, the garden was mapped out according to the design which drew heavily on the contemporary geometry of the rear extension.
The design reduced the size and position of the lawn and brought the planting closer to the house, providing a more functional ‘working’ kitchen garden with storage at the end.
The Newly Planted Garden
To make a real feature of the garden, I decided to create a gravel garden, right in front of the full-length picture window overlooking it.
I concentrated on creating a beautiful view from indoors, using planting in the foreground and at different points beyond to create a greater depth of perception and make the space feel considerably larger than it actually is.
While other areas of the garden have prescribed gravel paths and stepping stones, the gravel garden allows my clients to pick different ways to walk through the garden, whilst immersing themselves in the planting.
Home-grown Produce
To maximise productivity, I incorporated fruit trees throughout the garden, including blueberry bushes which provide beautiful blossom in spring and fruit to enjoy in the summer, plus colourful foliage in autumn.
I also incorporated herbs within the planting scheme in sunny positions close to the kitchen, for easy access and use when cooking.
My clients are delighted with their oak framed raised planters and have enjoyed eating home-grown vegetables from their new and easy to access kitchen garden.
Year Round Enjoyment
Not only is the garden now immersive, but it can be viewed and enjoyed all year round from inside as well as from the outdoor dining terrace.
This geometric gravel garden shows how creating multiple different ways to explore a garden is critical to a successful garden design.
It has ultimately made the garden much bigger and more usable , simply through the strategic implementation of good garden design.