Clifton Front Garden

An elegant house in Clifton required an equally elegant front garden. Previously, a parterre of box and yew topiary had graced the frontage of this house but it had become overgrown and straggly and then when box moth caterpillars decimated the box hedging, it was the final nail in the coffin.

The aspect from the house meant that the garden needed to work when being viewed from either the downstairs dining room or from the upstairs sitting room above so an element of symmetry naturally suggested itself, whilst a more informal planting scheme than had previously existed allowed for more flowering shrubs and perennials.

New Haddonstone edging now retains the edges of the beds, giving a clean but classic feel to the garden. Four new heavy metal obelisks give height and allow for scented climbers - so giving a perfume on the air en route to and from the house. A bespoke bin store hides unsightly bins away but allowing for easy access.

We decided on a white planting scheme of flowering shrubs and perennials, with hints of pale blue to give a feeling of harmony and serenity. White lavender against a backdrop of low yew hedging gives structure on two sides of a self-binding gravel square, interspersed with grasses and more informal perennials, with a range of greens for texture and layering. Towards the front of the garden a new fresh green Griselinia hedge sits behind the original railings, with some large hydrangea in front of this. Within the square sits a circular bed with a new evergreen Magnolia grandiflora ‘Maryland’ as a focal point, underplanted with various grasses and perennials.

I often feel front gardens get overlooked, to be places to store bins and pass through but I think as a space it can often lift your spirits on your way out and it can welcome you home on your way in. It’s worth making it an enjoyable experience, however small.

Further pictures to follow to show how the garden develops.

Landscaping by Symbol Gardens