A 'wow-factor' garden design in Grantham, Lincolnshire
It’s the sort of challenge every garden designer loves- transforming a much-loved but rather dated garden in the middle of the popular market town of Grantham into something that is fun, interesting and enjoyable.
Rejuvenating a tired but much-loved garden with landscape garden design
Located on a quiet edge of Grantham’s busy town centre, our customer’s existing garden benefitted from good proportions and some attractive mature plants. But, with limited and miss-matched hard landscaping, a dominant rectangular lawn (more moss than grass) and narrow planting borders to either side, it sorely lacked a sense of direction, purpose and identity. There were very few reasons to want to go outside to enjoy the space, and, if we’re going to be brutally honest, the garden was boring and in desperate need of a re-design.
Designing a 'wow-factor' garden
Fortunately, our customer had a very clear vision of what he wanted to achieve. His opening statement when we first met to discuss his garden design project was “we want to create a ‘wow factor’ garden.” OK, this really isn’t a bad starting point, but ‘wow factor’ is dangerously open to interpretation. After all, one person’s ‘wow’ could be another’s ‘eeek’.
It was a relief, therefore, when we were given a comprehensive ‘wish list’ of requirements and a large folder of pictures from online research. For example, having frequently travelled to the USA, our customer knew that he wanted a semi-circular seating area with a fire pit. A water feature to provide sound and visual interest was also a ‘must have’, as was making more of his favourite tree- a large mature monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) that stood tall and proud towards the end of the well-proportioned plot.
All-weather access to the existing summerhouse was also essential, and plenty of new planting to encourage birds and other wildlife into the garden. Oh, and our customer also wanted to be able to walk around the garden bare-foot if the mood took him. No gravel paths in this design then!
Simple and effective small garden design
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Our solution is extremely effective and deceptively simple. A Haddonstone water feature takes centre stage as the most prominent visible focal point when the garden is viewed from the main living room of the house. This is always the most important view to get in right in our opinion, not least because we often spend a lot of time 'using' our gardens from inside our houses by enjoying the views they create.
The elegant water feature marks the centre point of a circular lawn, which is itself surrounded by a wide path constructed of beautiful porcelain paving from our friends at Talasey Group. This, as it happens, was no easy task. To ensure a perfect circle, each of the tapering slabs was purposely cut at the factory to exact specifications. These are the details that make all the difference to a great garden.
Our circular path leads to the customer’s existing summerhouse, and to what is arguably the main feature of the new garden- Tythorne Garden Design's take on the semi-circular seating area our customer had seen on his travels. Expertly built from blue-grey granite setts and large enough to seat up to ten people, this is a fantastic ‘destination’ point for the garden. The adjacent lpg fire pit provides fabulous warmth and ensures that the seating area can be enjoyed on cooler days or long into the evening. Bespoke hand-made cushions add an extra touch of comfort.
Low-maintenance planting design for year-round colour and interest
The semi-circular seating area has been deliberately angled to provide wonderful views of the rest of the garden, and particularly of the plants. Our carefully designed low-maintenance planting brings the garden to life and attracts lots of friendly wildlife. The mixed borders are generously stocked with attractive shrubs and herbaceous perennials for year-round colour and interest.
Garden lighting design to make the most of the space
In keeping with the ‘wow factor’ style of this superb garden, our customer invested in lighting design. A state-of-the-art LED lighting system for the garden, complete with colour change options and a clever remote-control switching system. The sophisticated garden lighting has ensured that the garden is a delight to use long after darkness has fallen. Who needs curtains when the view outside is this good?
"Every day in my garden feels like a holiday"
This was a brilliant local garden design project for Tythorne Garden Design, and we loved every minute of it. Hat’s off, as always, to the talented team at Elite Landscaping of Grantham for another perfect build to the highest standards. Most of all, enormous thanks to our customer for asking us to help him to enjoy his garden more. It’s perhaps fitting to end this case study with a few kind words from our delighted customer:
“The end result of Tythorne Garden Design's work is stunning. Every day in my new garden feels like being on holiday. For anyone thinking about a new garden, their help and advice is invaluable - and worth every penny. They delivered their brief in spades (excuse the pun). A brilliant job - well done!”