Landscape Design
Urban Gardens
Patio of the Week
Patio of the Week: Stylish Urban Yard Rises From a Parking Spot
See how a designer transformed a London backyard area with fake lawn into a contemporary outdoor retreat
The owner of this backyard works full time and wanted something fairly low-maintenance but pretty. “She’s keen on entertaining and likes to sit in the garden in the evening with a glass of wine,” landscape designer Tom Howard says.
Part of Howard’s design brief was to ensure there wasn’t any ground-level planting, as the homeowner’s back issues prevent her from maintaining it. Ten-millimeter white limestone gravel between the pavers breaks up the expansive paving.
Fence color: Mole’s Breath; wall color: Worsted, both Farrow & Ball; Pierre Blue porcelain paving: London Stone
Fence color: Mole’s Breath; wall color: Worsted, both Farrow & Ball; Pierre Blue porcelain paving: London Stone
The built-in planting beds vary in height, with the tallest rising to 31 inches, the middle to 24 inches and the shortest to 16 inches. The wraparound bench also sits at 16 inches tall. “This bed does require a little bit of bending to reach it,” Howard says of the slightly lower foreground planter. “If you build beds too high in the foreground, you risk dissecting the garden.” This lower height ensures there’s a full view of the garden from the house.
Plants in the taller beds at the back of the yard include butterfly-attracting Love and Wishes salvia (Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’), ‘Caradonna’ salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’), ‘Amistad’ salvia (Salvia ‘Amistad’), sedge (Carex sp.), ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’) and ‘Credo’ yarrow (Achillea ‘Credo’).
European white birch (Betula pendula) trees grow on the left; coral bark Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’) grows on the right. The climbing plants, meanwhile, are evergreen confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
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Plants in the taller beds at the back of the yard include butterfly-attracting Love and Wishes salvia (Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’), ‘Caradonna’ salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’), ‘Amistad’ salvia (Salvia ‘Amistad’), sedge (Carex sp.), ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’) and ‘Credo’ yarrow (Achillea ‘Credo’).
European white birch (Betula pendula) trees grow on the left; coral bark Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’) grows on the right. The climbing plants, meanwhile, are evergreen confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
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Frost-resistant Polystone planters grow herbs close to the home. “They contain thyme, parsley, sage, rosemary, chives and oregano — all pretty hardy herbs,” Howard says.
The low planter next to the containers features pruned Ilex balls, often seen with boxwood. The planter also features golden male fern (Dryopteris affinis), wire vine (Muehlenbeckia sp.) and grasses, including orange New Zealand sedge (Carex testacea) and ‘Evergold’ sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’). “In a lot of our schemes, we start with the evergreens – that’s your structure. You might not be out there all year round, but you’ll see the plants from your living room or kitchen,” Howard says.
Floor lights in some of the paving stones and decking on the other side of the yard add atmosphere after dark.
The low planter next to the containers features pruned Ilex balls, often seen with boxwood. The planter also features golden male fern (Dryopteris affinis), wire vine (Muehlenbeckia sp.) and grasses, including orange New Zealand sedge (Carex testacea) and ‘Evergold’ sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’). “In a lot of our schemes, we start with the evergreens – that’s your structure. You might not be out there all year round, but you’ll see the plants from your living room or kitchen,” Howard says.
Floor lights in some of the paving stones and decking on the other side of the yard add atmosphere after dark.
A slatted fence panel runs down to the bed on the left. “When the owner bought the house, there was a gate here,” Howard says. (See the next photo.) “Outside, there was a dropped curb, and the previous owners used to drive their car in to park it. The area took up most of the garden,” he says.
“The original idea was to get rid of the gate, continue the bricks and have a walled garden,” the designer says. However, the owner was advised not to brick it up in case it encouraged the local council to reinstate the curb. With parking in London so scarce, the homeowner wanted to keep the option in place, as it would be a valuable selling point should she ever decide to move.
“The original idea was to get rid of the gate, continue the bricks and have a walled garden,” the designer says. However, the owner was advised not to brick it up in case it encouraged the local council to reinstate the curb. With parking in London so scarce, the homeowner wanted to keep the option in place, as it would be a valuable selling point should she ever decide to move.
Before: Here, you can see the backyard gate before it was paneled over, as well as the artificial grass parking area. From the street side, the original gate is still visible.
Disguising rather than removing the gate was also more cost-effective. Reclaimed bricks are expensive, Howard says, “and we’d have needed to put in a double-skin wall for strength and to follow the existing line. Cladding the inside instead worked out well,” he says.
Disguising rather than removing the gate was also more cost-effective. Reclaimed bricks are expensive, Howard says, “and we’d have needed to put in a double-skin wall for strength and to follow the existing line. Cladding the inside instead worked out well,” he says.
A Cor-Ten steel panel against the back wall provides a focal point, especially at night. It has an LED strip behind it, allowing light to shine through the laser-cut design at the top.
“This shows the panel early on in the rusting process,” Howard says. “It provides a nice contrast between the fence and the wall. The idea was that it’d be a focal point from the house and complement the render and the wall by contrasting with their cool tones, as it will be a warm color.” The wood decking and ‘Caramel’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Caramel’) in the low bed tie into the panel’s orangey tones.
Cor-Ten steel panel: Stark and Greensmith
“This shows the panel early on in the rusting process,” Howard says. “It provides a nice contrast between the fence and the wall. The idea was that it’d be a focal point from the house and complement the render and the wall by contrasting with their cool tones, as it will be a warm color.” The wood decking and ‘Caramel’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Caramel’) in the low bed tie into the panel’s orangey tones.
Cor-Ten steel panel: Stark and Greensmith
Howard also built a storage cabinet. “As with every London house, storage is an issue,” he says. “The owner wanted to blend it in as much as possible. We would have liked to keep it the same height as the raised bed, but obviously you wouldn’t have been able to fit much in it.” He tucked it out of the way and matched the color with the decking. The owner uses it to store cushions, wood, pruning shears and so on, he says.
Thermo-treated pine deck: Loknan
Thermo-treated pine deck: Loknan
A double door from the kitchen is the only access to the backyard from the house. A decked path runs from it down the side of the patio area, where it rises to become the bench.
The owner has a table just inside the kitchen door that she can move outside for meals if she wants. “The owner wanted to keep the space as clear as possible, and she’s more into sitting around the fire,” Howard says.
The owner has a table just inside the kitchen door that she can move outside for meals if she wants. “The owner wanted to keep the space as clear as possible, and she’s more into sitting around the fire,” Howard says.
Before: This shows the back of the yard before the renovation. “One third of it was bog-standard stone paving,” Howard says. “The other part was fake grass with a shed in the corner and a raised brick bed. It was clean and fine, but not very exciting.” The new different levels and surfaces break up the square patch.
Before: Here is another photo of the patio before the redesign, this time looking back on the house.
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Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A female professional
Location: Twickenham, southwest London
Size: About 378 square feet (35 square meters)
Designer: Tom Howard Garden Design and Landscaping
This view from the back of the house overlooks the yard. The homeowner added an outdoor hanging chair to the decked portion after the project was completed, seeking “somewhere she can sit and read a book,” Howard says. The benches around the fire bowl offer a more sociable seating area.
Fire bowl: The Pot Co.
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