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A blog about all aspects of garden design and outdoor living



11 March 2011

Architectural Front Garden

A front garden is not only yours!  More often than not,  it is seen from the other side of your boundary and by a lot more people too.  I always design front gardens from this perspective.
It should enhance and compliment your house and allow easy access to the hall door. If there is a consensus of styles in your area, than this should be reflected in yours.

We completed a project last year which will illustrate this point.




There was not a lot going on in the front garden before the bricks and sand were dropped there! It had become a tangle of weeds and old woody hedging.


The design brief was to smarten the frontage and to allow for two pathways. Other than that, it was up to me.  I aimed to create a visual link along the front and keep the open aspect as privacy was not an issue. Pathways in straight lines allow uncluttered passage. Maintenance was kept to a minimum.





Using mainly evergreen plants we created a harmonious palette of glossy leaf and architectural shape. Three planting squares were cut into the gravel to add a formality under the windows.





On one side of the main access path we created more pocket planting into gravel. Here we used one statement Italian Cupressus tree as a centrepiece. It provides the height we require without taking too much light or width. This is complimented by dwarf escalonia planted in a diamond shape beneath.





Buff coloured granite slabs edged by sizeable bark filled planting beds, evergreen plants and golden gravel combine to soften what could be a hard space.
This garden is admired by more than the occupants of this house. While we were creating it, pedestrians constantly complimented us on the transformation.

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