This case study shows a design for a back garden in Scotland. The client is an artist of many talents, and wanted a garden that could provide for her needs while delighting all the senses. The garden is around 20m x 45m, oriented almost North-South.
Of course, I also delivered more comprehensive planting plans, but above you can see the broad concept for the design. The client, who has just moved into the property, was very keen to include a large mandala garden, but also wanted some traditional kitchen garden beds and produce as much food as possible. She was also keen to include a dramatic water element, but was not entirely sure where to begin.
The existing garden is almost entirely laid with rough lawn, with a few mature native trees at the northern end. A mixed hedgerow is already present along the eastern side of the property while the other sides are wire fenced.
The southern two thirds of the site are entirely flat, while at the north, there is a steep and uneven slope up to the fence line along which the existing trees are located. This slope is boggy in places, and water sometimes pools at the base of the slope in wet weather.
As you can see, I have suggested that coppice trees and a forest garden area are placed on this sloping section, with loose terracing along contours, and that a large pond should be created on the largest terrace. Steps will lead up to this pond, while a waterfall feature will allow excess water to cascade down (c. 80cm) into a clay-lined canal, which will feed a second pond (with fish) at the heart of the mandala perennial flower (and perennial edibles) garden. The water from this pond will, in turn, feed a modest aquaponics system in the large glass greenhouse.
While naturalistic water features can also look wonderful, in this scheme, the round ponds and straight canal water feature are designed to provide order and symmetry that the client wished for to contrast with wilder and more naturalistic planting.
If you would like to know more about this design, or would like a similar design for your own property, please do get in touch.
EWSP Consultancy 