Traditional Garden In Hammersmith

Porcelain paving, aluminium pergolas and contemporary design definitely have a place in the world, but Chris's clients were adamant that they wanted to stick with traditional landscaping materials. For them, it's all about olde worlde charm, which of course, is completely in keeping with their renovated Victorian property.

Garden Designer Claire Collombin did a terrific job of intrepreting the brief to design this unpretentious layout with a restful atmosphere.

Besides the challenge of bringing all materials in via a basement, and removing all waste the same way, this garden needed special attention to rainwater management.

The garden slopes towards the property, which already sits quite low in the ground. 100 linear metres of carefully placed drainage should mitigate any risk of flooding.

The original design specified mint sandstone, however, after chatting with the client, it was changed to limestone. And what a good decision that was! The client loved it so much, he has asked Chris and the team to lay limestone pavers in his front garden as well.

The timber for the pergola is reclaimed beams brought all the way from Austria. That 'lived in' quality looks well with the other materials in the garden and perfectly compliments the age of the property.

This pretty garden has a lovely ambience. With it's limestone patio, rustic path and gorgeous pergola. I'm sure that Chris's clients are out there right now with a glass of something rich and fruity and some very good company. This is a garden for life - and it's beautiful.