BALI AWARD 2020: DOMESTIC GARDEN CONSTRUCTION £30K – £60K

The clients bought the house where they inherited a sloping site, including an old tennis court in the lower half of the garden. They were very open to ideas but preferred a formal design with structure, to include a vegetable garden, pizza oven area, and a formal pond.

Phase 1 – Lower Garden (Not judged)

The main challenge was to create good access from the top half of the garden to the lower area, as the tennis court had been dug in with a large retaining wall. The amount of spoil allowed for an inter-linking circular design where curved grass paths led down to a level circular lawn, creating an amphitheatre style when looking up to the house.

A predominantly soft landscaping scheme was created with pleached Parrotia persica trees, hornbeam & box hedges providing the main structure. 

Lack of topsoil, provided the opportunity to soften the strong shapes of the design with wildflower meadow, easing the expense and logistics of importing topsoil.

Phase 2 – Pizza Oven Area

This area developed further from the original design after the clients liked a similar Graduates project which had incorporated a pizza oven area and breakfast bar.

The Pizza oven, being incredibly heavy, had to be lifted in using a ‘Hooka’ mini crane.

Phase 3 – Upper Garden

This area was to be more formal and geometric in style, reflecting the house and terrace but also allowing it to accommodate the large rill. Movement is created by cutting off direct access from the terrace steps, and instead, leading the pedestrian to the main steps onto the lawn, either, via the stepping-stones in the rill or, through the pizza oven area.

The softer planting has been predominantly carried out by the clients with just the structural planting carried out by Graduate Gardeners.