City centre living has its bonuses but car parking is generally a nightmare. This double fronted house, in a quiet cul de sac near the city, has ample room to create off street parking while retaining some nicely planted areas.
With just grass each side of a path we had a perfect blank canvas.
This is the result of our careful planning and plantscaping (below).
Removing the railings on both sides enabled us to fully open the garden and maximise its potential as a parking space.
We created a deep holding barrier of cobbles to stop the gravel escaping onto the roadway. Narrow planting beds to the side railings and in front of the house allow some framing of the garden while plants can not overgrow the parking area.
Breaking the spaces with gravel, cobble and bark makes for some interest in what could be a harsh area. Lush planting explodes out of a central bark mulched bed.
This central planting area is surrounded by a gravel filled border. This is wide enough to walk through and provides access for tending the plants.
Here a close up shows the mix of evergreen flowering plants and grasses used. Fuchsia and miscanthus sit alongside evergreen ferns and tall firey crocosmia lucifer – now firmly one of our favourites!
The garden now works as a pleasing green space in an urban landscape. With a car space attached, almost as an afterthought, the garden feels completely natural. None of this is accidental, of course, as clever use of space and strict measurements were employed to get it as functional as it is.
Tags: bark mulch, cobbles, front garden, fuchsia, gravel, lawn, low maintenance, merton design, mixed planting, phormium, weeping cotoneaster
Posted in garden projects - 3 front gardens • Will • No Comments »
