Edibles galore and more

Matching the owners' home entirely

THE DESIGN

My mission here was to make the most of every element this plot had to offer.

Space was valuable, with not much of it to play with, so paths had to be practical not just pretty - wide enough to walk around, without taking up more room than there was.

Planting was designed to be useful as well as beautiful, packed with edibles. The home's 1950s style influenced the planting too. Even the owners’ love of cycling made its way into my design.

PLANTING

Colourful, largely edible garden with evergreen herbs (rosemary, Lavandula, sage etc.), flowers (Hemerocallis or Day lily) and fruit (wild strawberry, currants), not to mention salad leaves (rocket, society garlic, Chinese chives) and root tubers (Dahlia).

Non-edible flowers added for colour, including winter and spring bulbs, from autumn crocus to late spring daffodils, then classic ’50s plants like gladioli, lily of the valley and crocosmia, to reference the house’s period.

STRUCTURES

New fence in recycled plastic, colour matched to the house's front door.

A narrow path in a mix of reclaimed and new setts to match the driveway.