By garden designer Christine Wilkie. The front garden of this period Edwardian property in west London was a large expanse of concrete hard standing, and overgrown planting. The overriding aim of the design was to create a garden that combined space for off-street parking for one car, architectural soft landscaping as well as a place to sit and watch the world go by.
The style of the new garden had to be sympathetic to the house and it was important that the end result was more contemporary front garden than ubiquitous driveway. Additional screening to an existing boundary wall was also a key requirement, as was the need to keep the existing cherry tree.
In order to comply with drainage regulations for front driveways, a decorative flint gravel was used. Other hard landscaping materials were chosen to complement the materials of the house, namely bricks, black limestone pavers and granite setts in mixed colours.
A footpath was constructed of limestone stepping stones to lead to the front door and giving a garden feel to the drive when not being used for vehicular parking.
Contemporary cedar trellising was installed for screening, while a granite bench provides a sociable place to sit and enjoy the afternoon sun.
Plant list
Other gardens by this designer