Hampshire Garden Design

Southampton Garden Design – Contemporary and Classy

This garden in Romsey near Southampton was in desperate need of a full makeover. There had been several DIY attempts at landscaping over the years as you can see from the ‘before pictures’. We removed the old patio, brick built pond, and lawn but carefully retained the existing planting which was the best feature of the garden.

A beautiful smooth sawn sandstone patio was built in the bottom sunny corner away from the house. To one side we built a rill to give the gentle sound of running water in this tranquil corner of the garden. A nicely finished brand new lawn with stone planks encouraging movement across the garden led to the matching stone around the house which greatly lightened and brightened this shady part of the garden.

Finally our skilled horticulturalists carefully replanted the existing planting without any casualties, leaving the delighted clients with a light and airy, stylish yet very contemporary garden to enjoy.

Southampton Garden Design – Classic Country Cottage

One of our biggest challenges. This lovely cottage near Southampton had been lovingly restored by its owners over several years and they needed a garden to match. As you can see from the photos we were presented with a complete shambles, the most prominent of which was the concrete and brick wall that surrounded the rather large bamboo. At one time there was a bomb shelter and various temporary structures that had been installed during the Second World War.

We had a fantastic backdrop to work with in the form of the thatched roof cottage and we sympathetically wove a combination of curved borders, paving, meandering pathways formed with setts, and curved raised borders made from oak.

Fareham Garden Design – Circles and Stone

This nicely sized garden in Fareham was, by the clients admission, pretty uninspiring and in a desperate need of a complete rework. The garden was dominated by three things; a large conservatory, a large lawn, and a very tall hedge.

The conservatory had been added to the house and led straight onto the lawn with no transitional paving. The lawn was pretty bumpy and uneven and sloped gradually down the plot in different directions. The hedge was a tricky one as the client was not keen to lose it on the basis that it added to the privacy of the garden. Our designer pointed out the issues it caused in terms of; taking up a lot of space, dominating the garden, robbing potential planting of light, water and nutrients, and last but not least needing to be maintained at some expense twice per year. Eventually the client agreed to its demise.

The clients preferences and the shape of the garden leant itself very nicely to the placing of two circular interconnecting lawns that were elevated slightly above the rest of the garden with rings of stone setts. A beautifully striking riven sandstone paving was added to the back of the house in a dog-tooth fashion amongst ornamental gravel which also formed the mulch for the borders ready for planting. Finally a sandstone circle was placed off the centre of one of the lawns and topped with a bespoke pergola to provide a nice peaceful corner away from the house.

Winchester Garden Design – Stunning Water Feature

This garden on the north side of Winchester was in need of a complete makeover. Tired lawn, worn out paving, planting past its sell by date, and a new conservatory that had been added to the house but encroached upon the existing space in the garden.

We used the space at the back of the house to create a lovely new natural stone patio in keeping with the feel of the house and its surroundings. We used the change in levels in the garden to design and build a pond on two levels with a waterfall between the two. Beautiful Purbeck stone rocks and Scotch pebbles finished the effect to produce this stunning result.

Basingstoke Garden Design – Classic Country Garden

This beautiful country house had recently been subject to much upheaval due to the addition of a truly magnificent pad for Grandad (the newer building on the left). The stage was set for the garden to be reclaimed in dramatic style. Very tired crazy paving all around the house, rickety brick walls, random areas of gravel, a drive that resembled an NCP car park and no sense of this being a garden at all with no flow, no continuity, and no areas of interest.

We redesigned the area around the house to make a large level area of limestone paving set into cotswold chippings, giving a fresh, airy, rustic feel which combined well with the character of the house. The drive was redesigned with strong flowing lines and finished with the attractive cotswold chippings and the gate was re-sited to give a better view and more welcoming entrance into the garden. Large curvaceous borders were added to complement the brand new lawn ready for lots of lovely new planting to be added.

Winchester Garden Design – The Icing on the Cake

This beautiful house had a lovely sized plot with plenty of potential. An interesting shape, really two gardens in one, some excellent planting in the main part of the garden, but not much else going for it.

Our designer was keen to be sure that the new garden not only reflected the tastes of the client but worked well with the house with its strong architecture. A very light and large area of limestone paving was added to the front and side of the house laid in a design with very strong straight lines. The edges of the paving will eventually be framed with box hedging in tune with the elegant lines of the house and framing the planting with formal tidiness. Rendered block walls finished to match the render of the house formed a seating area next to the new greenhouse and the raised vegetable borders next to the side of the house. A nice level lawn finished the effect and the borders to its side were topped off with a long wooden structure on each side for colourful climbers to add another dimension to the planting.

Winchester Garden Design – Contemporary Cottage

This garden was part of a brand new development in Winchester. As is usual in this scenario the builders had laid a poor quality lawn that sloped in several directions with some poor quality paving slabs laid outside the external doorways. The client wanted a cottage style garden that worked with this very modern looking house.

The shape of the garden leant itself very nicely to a circular lawn. Circular lawns always give you very interestingly shaped curved borders which display planting really well. A riven sandstone patio finished the effect we were looking for and the client was delighted with this blend of cottage and contemporary styles.

Winchester Garden Design – Stunning Contemporary Look

This brand new development in Winchester was sadly let down by the builders using cheap sawn softwood sleepers and poor quality sandstone to build the garden.

Our complete makeover maintained the existing levels, which were quite interesting, while extending the patio finished in vilified ceramic porcelain tiles. The lower part of the garden contained the lawn surrounded by borders at different heights built with white rendered block-work. The effect was finished with a lovely slatted screen fence surrounding the garden and planted with a variety of mediterranean style plants.

Gosport Garden Design – Child Friendly and All Weather

As you can see from the before photos, taken on a depressingly bleak and cold day in winter, we had a massive challenge on our hands to turn around this small garden in Gosport. There was so much ‘stuff’ in this garden in the form of old sheds, crumbling balustrades, old bits of pathway and paving that it was very difficult to see the wood for the trees.

There were some fundamental requirements for this garden as it was going to become an outside space for children so had to be all weather and safe.

The client chose a very striking rainbow sandstone which was reached from the house via a hardwood deck and wide steps retained by oak sleepers. The grass areas were made from artificial grass to provide all weather availability. The combination of stone, decking, and grass in a clean and tight design have given the impression of far more space in this very contemporary garden.

Please note that a glass balustrade was added to the deck after these photos were taken to stop the toddlers parachuting onto the grass.

North Hampshire Garden Design – On the banks of a Trout Stream

What a location! This garden was perched on the banks of a beautiful trout stream in the north of the county. Our designer was unashamedly distracted by the trout rising through the clear water, he’s a keen angler, during the site survey for this garden. Having admired the location the site itself was a different proposition. Piles of chalk dumped by builder during the extension work, (they often do this), were then covered with weeds and grass and not much else on this very chalky site. There was a large drop from the thresholds of the doors on the house down to the garden which needed to be resolved.

Our designer produced a very contemporary design using strong diagonals and straight lines to add a real ‘zing’ to the house and its garden. There is a rill along the edge of the patio next to the house which echoes the passage of the stream along the bottom of the garden. The smooth sawn sandstone give a clean and airy look to the house and its dated brickwork while the modern bespoke pergola gives a perfect location for al-fresco dining right next to the stream.

Portsmouth Garden Design – Medium Sized Contemporary Garden

This garden was a building site when we first met it. It was very typical of many gardens we visit in terms of their history. When a house is first built there is usually a need to do something with the garden at a time when there is maybe not much money to spend. This can lead to a piecemeal approach to developing the garden with no overall design and sporadic improvements over time. What we often find is a situation where little has changed in the garden with many of the features and particular the planting in desperate need of rejuvenation or complete replacement.

This garden had lots of mature planting, a shed and greenhouse that were poorly positioned, and a lawn that had seen much better days. The design removed the grass completely, added interestingly shaped raised and ground level borders, sandstone paving, new fencing, and a stunning new pond with paving steps leading through it.