Fresh from his success at the BALI awards, and having worked on previous Chelsea gardens, designer, Mark Draper has decided to design and build his first Show Garden for Graduate Gardeners.

The designer has been set the challenge of creating a garden for a young professional couple who are looking to get more from their existing garden space. They have recently refurbished and modernised their town house and want to create a connection from the indoor living area to the outdoors. They enjoy entertaining and want somewhere to relax after the daily grind and they are keen to add a little style and spohistication to the garden space.

One of the key demands of the couple is privacy, as they live in a terraced town house. Pleached hornbeams, positioned around the boundary mean they can entertain their friends without fear of being overlooked and also add height and structure to the design, along with a strong skeleton of box topiary for winter interest.

The borders, in contrast, are soft and flowing with predominantly cool colours, greens and soft creams. Accent colours of blue, mauve and pink provide additional colour and interest.

The materials need to be clean, simple and of limited colour palette. The distinctive blue / grey stone,Stonemarket 'Zephyr', is used for the paving and seating, it has a smooth finish. Laid in a grid pattern, this adds to the more modern, simple feel of the scheme. The slate walling and paving inlays add texture and details to the scheme, reinforcing the restrained colour palette. The use of stainless steel, either side of the slate panel and artwork, frames the two focal points and contrasts with the hard landscape materials.

The artwork on the long boundary is by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and forms a strong focal point in the garden. The boundaries themselves are also an important part, consisting of green oak laths and textured slate detailing. During the day colours are restrained for a simple, modern feel and at night, lighting lifts the garden adding texture to the structures. Two understated, yet stylish, water features, lined with the same paving, complete this minimalistic outdoor space.

http://www.stonemarket.co.uk/zephyr