When Bel met the owners of this new build property in Shepshed, Leicestershire, they had one ultimate dream for the garden - the WOW factor. They were keen gardeners and had moved from a house with an established garden which they loved and cared for. It was clear from the start of the project that this was to be a true gardeners garden - low maintenance was not a priority here! The garden wraps around 3 sides of the property with a shallow front garden with lawn, hedging and a small amount of planting. The rear garden offered more scope to realise the clients dreams for their outdoor living space...
The clients requirements included a curvaceous layout, courtyard garden, a large patio area for entertaining, a relaxing paved area needing screening from the neighbours and a large lawn. Bel also suggested a utility area for these plant loving gardeners to store compost, tools, wheelbarrows etc as there was no area to hide them away and a mowing strip to help with keeping the lawn neat.
The garden sloped from left to right and front to back - a legacy left by the builders which is so often the case with new build properties. Bel used her experience and expertise to create a garden design plan which leveled the central spine of the garden for the lawn and used sandstone walling to create a wow factor feature retaining wall with the sinuous curved layout of the clients dreams. The bespoke sandstone wall also offered Bel the opportunity to incorporate seating useful for when the clients entertain. Find out more about the Garden Design Process.
Bel designed a small courtyard area with sandstone paving and a block paver circular feature in the centre. Planting beds wrap around the courtyard walls adding fragrance, colour and interest whilst softening the hard landscaping elements. The large paved patio adjacent provides space for a family sized table and chairs whilst the small paving circle along the side of the house offers room for a bench and table. This small seating area needed screening as the area was overlooked by neighbours. The solution was to create a bespoke curved arbour which wraps around the sandstone paving circle and offers the opportunity to grow climbers for privacy and colour...
The garden sloped from left to right and front to back - a legacy left by the builders which is so often the case with new build properties. Bel used her experience and expertise to create a garden design plan which leveled the central spine of the garden for the lawn and used sandstone walling to create a wow factor feature retaining wall with the sinuous curved layout of the clients dreams. The bespoke sandstone wall also offered Bel the opportunity to incorporate seating useful for when the clients entertain. Find out more about the Garden Design Process.
Bel designed a small courtyard area with sandstone paving and a block paver circular feature in the centre. Planting beds wrap around the courtyard walls adding fragrance, colour and interest whilst softening the hard landscaping elements. The large paved patio adjacent provides space for a family sized table and chairs whilst the small paving circle along the side of the house offers room for a bench and table. This small seating area needed screening as the area was overlooked by neighbours. The solution was to create a bespoke curved arbour which wraps around the sandstone paving circle and offers the opportunity to grow climbers for privacy and colour...
Being keen gardeners the clients wanted to be able to add in their own plants at a later date, so Bel created a planting scheme which provided and back ground structural planting of shrubs, tress and perennials which spaces left for the clients to incorporate further planting, bulbs etc. Find out more about the Planting Design Process.
A year later, Bel created a design for the front garden, to give greater kerb appeal and rectify the poor layout installed by the original house builders.
The clients have been very pleased with the garden project and are the proud owners of a beautiful plant lovers paradise...
A year later, Bel created a design for the front garden, to give greater kerb appeal and rectify the poor layout installed by the original house builders.
The clients have been very pleased with the garden project and are the proud owners of a beautiful plant lovers paradise...
We invited Bel Grierson to transform our boring lawn and slabbed in to a garden with a WOW factor. We were so delighted with every aspect of her design that we then commissioned her to turn her plan into reality. Bel arranged for the landscaping to take place, which was a challenge as the original garden was upward sloping and required 8 skip loads of earth, brick & rubble to be removed. Whilst this happened Bel was carefully selecting around 280 specimen trees, shrubs, roses and climbers. Upon completion of the landscaping Bel arrived with a lorry load of plants and trees and brought life to to new garden creation. We are now waiting for nature to take a hand, along with us heeding Bel's maintenance plan. The planting is such that it will have all year round interest. We simple cannot thank Bel enough for her creativity and genius as she has delivered us our dream garden. If you are looking for somebody to give you inspiration in your garden then we highly recommend Bel to you!
Do you want to know how much it costs to transform a garden like this?
See Bel's articles in the Advice Hub which advises on budgeting for your Garden Design or Planting Design project
See Bel's articles in the Advice Hub which advises on budgeting for your Garden Design or Planting Design project