North London Garden

This garden was a real gem within the conservation area of the Holly Lodge Estate

This North London garden combines soft planting with a strong and bold architecture. The arch over the terrace creates a nice frame to the garden.
This North London garden combines soft planting with a strong and bold architecture. The arch over the terrace creates a nice frame to the garden.
Stage 1

The Brief

The 1000 sq.m garden wraps around the property that at the time, was undergoing major renovation. The architect’s aesthetic is very sympathetic to the history of the Estate that was originally conceived in 1925 as a ‘Garden Suburb’.

It was important therefore that our garden design also played a role in conserving the overall feel of this suburb, adding amenity value to the surrounding roads and views.

Stage 2

Design and Build

Our intention was to visually open up the garden, and whilst designing separate areas, we were keen to create a transitional journey through each space. The front garden runs across the entire width of the plot, creating a strong focal path, with traditional herbaceous borders either side.

We have then built long wide turf treads, with Cor-Ten risers that culminate in 3 focal Cor-Ten panels directly opposite the client’s office window. These turf steps lead you up onto a large hardwood deck area outside the main living space, that turns the corner to join the wide patio across the back of the house. The deck is surrounded with very deep planting beds that follow the slope of the land under 2 protected Lime Trees. A beautiful Magnolia grandiflora forms a wonderful parasol to the side of the deck, and screens the house from overlooking windows.

The turf steps and corten risers draw your eye to the feature panels in front of the yew hedge.
The turf steps and corten risers draw your eye to the feature panels in front of the yew hedge.
Detail of the planting in this North London garden where soft pinks merge with the mature grasses, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ for a wilder look.
Detail of the planting in this North London garden where soft pinks merge with the mature grasses, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ for a wilder look.
Stage 3

Finished Project

The rear garden boasts a large lawn, and sunken trampoline; the latter is hidden from view behind a raised mound of ornamental grasses. We also created a focal boundary wall, from hardwood timber and Cor-Ten steel inserts that at night is lit up with soft LED strip lights.

This part of the garden is accessed by long stone steps that rise up about 1m, and a built in timber bench blends into the retaining wall, allowing space for a 3m long dining table. The family seem to spend every available opportunity out in this garden, and it is a delight to see it used to its full potential.

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The corten risers form the steps in the lawn to walk to the house near a mutlistemmed Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’ in this North London garden.
This feature at the back of the garden forms a visual boundary to the neighbour’s garden in this North London garden. It is designed using hardwood timber and recessed corten strips details.
This feature is designed using hardwood timber and recessed corten strips details. Some grasses at the front soften the limit between the lawn and the vertical line.
The corten feature panel in this North London garden has been designed and built to contrast nicely with the shades of green of the herbaceous borders.
The herbaceous border is glowing from the sun back lighting the Hakonechloa, Anemantele, Cenolophium and Persicaria in this North London Garden.
The strong architecture of the house with its white rendered walls and built in ipe bench are softened by the planting overhanging towards the seating area.
Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, Penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’, Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, just about to flower, are intermingled in the herbaceous border.
View through the rendered arch, where the sandstone steps lead up to the lawn. The hardwood and Corten panel at the back of the garden becomes a focal feature to enjoy from the seating area and house in this North London Garden.
Corten steel feature panel and herbaceous planting form a nice balance of colours in this North London Garden.
A trampoline is hidden between a soft mount of grasses, Anemanthele lessoniana, and an existing Apple tree. It has been buried to make it even more discreet and for ease of maintenance.
Detail of the apple tree underplanted with Anemanthele lessoniana on a mound. From this viewpoint, the trampoline is invisible.
Acer palmatum ‘Purpureum’ blends in nicely with the Corten steel risers. The lawn offers a good contrast, standing out against the white house.
An old Magnolia soulangeana is the main feature of this North London garden. The corten risers and turf lawn work nicely around its trunk.
A view of the garden when the builders where working on the house, prior to the garden being landscaped in this North London garden.
A 3D visual showing the entrance to this North London garden with the corten steel and turf step, leading to the Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’. We can understand well the structure in the borders, using yew hedges, Taxus baccata, as a separation between the herbaceous.
This 3D visual explains to the client the gravel path to the back of the garden and the planting structure. The Amelanchier lamarckii help to balance the house and provide intimacy from the street.
This 3D visual gives us a view from the living room into the garden. The hardwood timber deck guides your eye to enjoy the herbaceous border and the trees, whilst the garden furniture give the whole space some scale in this North London garden.
A plan view of the garden shows clearly the organic shapes of the borders, contrasting with the strong structure of the hard landscaping and the house.
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Photos by Marianne Majerus

Testimonial

"Thanks to the creative vision and professional idea we now have a fantastic garden to enjoy. I really felt that they held our hand through the whole process to help ensure the end product was perfect."

Residents of North London Garden