A Lush Cottage Garden in a Small Urban Backyard
Removing the lawn was the springboard for this redesigned English garden that’s a haven for birds and bees
Wildflower meadow plantings, a meandering path, wisteria, foxglove, the gentle tinkle of water just out of sight — you’d never guess this garden belongs to a 1970s home in the city. “I like to call the style ‘urban cottage,’” designer and homeowner Amanda Shipman says.
“The lawn in the original garden was shaded for half the year and, although we loved the open space, it only really looked good in summer,” Shipman says. “So I redesigned it and removed the lawn, then included space-saving, wildlife-friendly and low-maintenance elements.”
“The lawn in the original garden was shaded for half the year and, although we loved the open space, it only really looked good in summer,” Shipman says. “So I redesigned it and removed the lawn, then included space-saving, wildlife-friendly and low-maintenance elements.”
In one corner of the garden is a pergola with wisteria on top, visible at the top left in the first photo, and rattan furniture beneath it, seen here. This is just one of the seating areas.
“As the sun sets in the evening, it shines right in there,” Shipman says. “On the other side [see previous image] is my traditional English garden — roses and a lavender-y border.”
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“As the sun sets in the evening, it shines right in there,” Shipman says. “On the other side [see previous image] is my traditional English garden — roses and a lavender-y border.”
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Shipman’s late husband became unwell as work started on the garden. “When he was ill, he spent a lot of time in the garden,” she says.
“He had one summer in it. I designed it to be viewed from a sitting position, and he spent a lot of time lying under the pergola. It’s a garden for peace.”
Having decided to remove the lawn, Shipman then wanted to ensure that biodiversity wouldn’t be compromised. As such, meadow plantings, seen here, are a key feature of the design.
“I used a wildflower border turf and, because I laid it onto ordinary border soil — rather than impoverished ground, which is what you’d often put it onto — it’s gone mad. The wildflowers are loving it!
“It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Turf: Wildflower Turf
“I used a wildflower border turf and, because I laid it onto ordinary border soil — rather than impoverished ground, which is what you’d often put it onto — it’s gone mad. The wildflowers are loving it!
“It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Turf: Wildflower Turf
The view from the back of the garden is a sea of blooms. From the left are Allium cristophii (globes), Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ (spires), Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’, Rosa ‘Mortimer Sackler’ (pink blooms), Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Clematis ‘Rouge Cardinal’, Buxus sempervirens, and Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ (not in flower). Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, a yellow grass, is in the foreground.
The plants in the pot are Helichrysum petiolatum, mini trailing petunia and geranium. Wisteria sinensis grows above the window and door on the house.
The plants in the pot are Helichrysum petiolatum, mini trailing petunia and geranium. Wisteria sinensis grows above the window and door on the house.
“The wildlife borders conceal a water feature that you can hear but not see,” Shipman says. This photo shows it “late in the season after I’ve cut the wildflower border back a bit, which reveals the water,” she says.
“The whole idea was to introduce some mystery, which you don’t usually get in such a small space, and it masks some traffic noise too,” she adds. “It takes in the sense of sound, not just sight, and brings your focus back into the garden.”
This water feature is perfect for a small garden, Shipman says: “The sump is in the pool itself, so I didn’t need to dig down. Because it’s so shallow [about 4 inches], it doesn’t need much to ripple.”
Pigeons also use the water feature as a birdbath. On the brick path that meanders through the space, Shipman has thoughtfully added a shallower dish for birds with shorter legs.
“The whole idea was to introduce some mystery, which you don’t usually get in such a small space, and it masks some traffic noise too,” she adds. “It takes in the sense of sound, not just sight, and brings your focus back into the garden.”
This water feature is perfect for a small garden, Shipman says: “The sump is in the pool itself, so I didn’t need to dig down. Because it’s so shallow [about 4 inches], it doesn’t need much to ripple.”
Pigeons also use the water feature as a birdbath. On the brick path that meanders through the space, Shipman has thoughtfully added a shallower dish for birds with shorter legs.
In this shot of the garden taken from above, a fence Shipman revamped can be seen at the back. “The actual fence slopes, as the ground slopes — it used to drive me nuts,” she says. But she couldn’t replace the fence, as it runs behind a row of houses and borders a walkway. Besides, she had a smarter idea.
“You don’t always need to replace a fence to improve it. I overboarded my section with horizontal wood slats, which evened up the horizon,” she says. “As long as your posts are solid, overboarding is also a really good idea for achieving a uniform fence style on all three sides of a garden, even when different neighbors own different bits of the fence.”
“You don’t always need to replace a fence to improve it. I overboarded my section with horizontal wood slats, which evened up the horizon,” she says. “As long as your posts are solid, overboarding is also a really good idea for achieving a uniform fence style on all three sides of a garden, even when different neighbors own different bits of the fence.”
Shipman is pleased with her shed. She picked a design that has a door in the middle of the longest stretch. “It means you never have to reach into the depths, through cobwebs, to find what you’re looking for. Everything is visible and within reach,” she says.
She positioned the shed against the center of the fence, rather than up at one end. “It means you create two secluded seating areas either side. Heaven knows why people so often put sheds in the corner,” she says.
The shed has a sedum roof, meaning that, as well as being wildlife-friendly, it is attractive when seen from the upstairs windows.
Shed paint: Muted Clay, Cuprinol
She positioned the shed against the center of the fence, rather than up at one end. “It means you create two secluded seating areas either side. Heaven knows why people so often put sheds in the corner,” she says.
The shed has a sedum roof, meaning that, as well as being wildlife-friendly, it is attractive when seen from the upstairs windows.
Shed paint: Muted Clay, Cuprinol
From this angle, you can see how Shipman has used the position of the shed to carve out one of the four seating areas; there’s another on the opposite side. This one is on the patio close to the house.
“I never need a parasol, as there’s always shade somewhere at some point in the day,” she says.
“I never need a parasol, as there’s always shade somewhere at some point in the day,” she says.
In a raised bed behind the bench seen here, Shipman planted a flowering dogwood (Cornus kousa), which she bought as a mature tree. “It has little starry-shaped bracts, which are very beautiful when you’re looking down from the windows above,” she says. “It’s important to consider the views you’ll have of your plants when you position them.”
The potted plants are hostas. “They’re very heavy and in large pots,” Shipman says. “I’ve put them on pot trolleys that take up to [about 350 pounds]. They roll at a touch, so I can easily sweep underneath them without help. It’s part of me being independent in my own space.”
The stands are made of recycled plastic and have good-quality wheels from Germany. Wheeled stands “can easily buckle if they’re not strong enough,” Shipman says, “so it’s worth investing.” These were about $55 each.
The potted plants are hostas. “They’re very heavy and in large pots,” Shipman says. “I’ve put them on pot trolleys that take up to [about 350 pounds]. They roll at a touch, so I can easily sweep underneath them without help. It’s part of me being independent in my own space.”
The stands are made of recycled plastic and have good-quality wheels from Germany. Wheeled stands “can easily buckle if they’re not strong enough,” Shipman says, “so it’s worth investing.” These were about $55 each.
A close-up view of the dogwood reveals the pretty, star-shape bracts.
The patio runs across the full width of the garden and is paved with porcelain tiles. “The tiles are really easy to keep clean, as they only need a sweep, and as they’re vitrified, they don’t attract algae, so they’re not slippery,” Shipman says.
Porcelain tiles: Emperor in color Limerick, CED Stone Group
Porcelain tiles: Emperor in color Limerick, CED Stone Group
The fourth seating area is a dining space on the other side of the patio, opposite the bench.
“The wisteria starts just beyond the patio wall, seen at the bottom here, and goes [50 feet on] each side — stretching across the back of the house at one end,” Shipman says. Despite looking very woody, wisteria isn’t hard to prune. “You just tidy back the thin whips that grow each summer,” she says.
Euphorbia grows just to the right of the statue. “I love some lime green in the spring,” Shipman says. Also in this part of the garden are hellebores, roses, boxwood and evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
Euphorbia grows just to the right of the statue. “I love some lime green in the spring,” Shipman says. Also in this part of the garden are hellebores, roses, boxwood and evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
The dark tulips in front of the wisteria are ‘Recreado’; the paler pink, blowsy flowers in the foreground are also tulips. “They’re super-duper tulips!” Shipman says. “They’re called La Belle Epoque and are much talked about at the moment.” They’re planted with forget-me-nots. “The colors all look so wonderful together,” she says.
Shipman planted them in their own pots. “It means they each perform rather than competing in a bed. And it’s all about performance in a small garden, which is like a theater — you don’t want everything shouting all the time.
“These flower in late April with the wisteria,” she says. “Then, when they’re done, I move them away and another part of the garden comes to life.”
Shipman planted them in their own pots. “It means they each perform rather than competing in a bed. And it’s all about performance in a small garden, which is like a theater — you don’t want everything shouting all the time.
“These flower in late April with the wisteria,” she says. “Then, when they’re done, I move them away and another part of the garden comes to life.”
At the back of the garden is an Acer tree, underneath which Shipman has planted foxglove, woodland plants and late-flowering varieties such as Japanese anemones.
She’s opted for a Japanese approach to pruning the Acer. “Instead of the British style, which can round things quite a bit, you take out branches, which lightens up the canopy. I don’t cut anything from the edge, only from the inside, close to the trunk. It allows the plant to have its natural span and, I think, makes trees look very graceful.”
She’s opted for a Japanese approach to pruning the Acer. “Instead of the British style, which can round things quite a bit, you take out branches, which lightens up the canopy. I don’t cut anything from the edge, only from the inside, close to the trunk. It allows the plant to have its natural span and, I think, makes trees look very graceful.”
The paths in the upper part of the garden are slim-line Belgian clay pavers laid in a herringbone pattern, creating an informal feel between the plantings.
Clay pavers: CED Stone Group
Clay pavers: CED Stone Group
“It’s a multidirectional path,” Shipman says. “I wanted you to feel encouraged to walk along it wherever you started. That’s why I chose herringbone — it doesn’t direct you.
“The way you lay paving has an impact on the direction and pace you walk along it,” she continues. “Horizontal bands slow you down; if they run lengthways, you want to rush along them.
“The pale, contemporary porcelain tiles are calmer,” Shipman says, “which is why I chose those for close to the back door. They also fit with the house. Then, as you go further out, it gets cottage-y. That’s why I call the style ‘urban cottage.’”
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“The way you lay paving has an impact on the direction and pace you walk along it,” she continues. “Horizontal bands slow you down; if they run lengthways, you want to rush along them.
“The pale, contemporary porcelain tiles are calmer,” Shipman says, “which is why I chose those for close to the back door. They also fit with the house. Then, as you go further out, it gets cottage-y. That’s why I call the style ‘urban cottage.’”
More on Houzz
Browse inspiring gardens
Find a landscape contractor
Shop for outdoor products
Backyard at a Glance
Who lives here: Amanda Shipman and sometimes one of her two grown-up daughters and their partners
Location: St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Size: 1,089 square feet (101 square meters), 33 by 33 feet
Relaxing in one of the four secluded seating areas in this petite plot, senses soothed by the gentle splashes of a hidden water feature and the buzz of contented bees taking their pick from the many pollen-rich blooms, you could believe you were in the middle of the countryside. This was exactly Shipman’s plan for the garden, which she overhauled in 2017.
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