Tagged: garden design

January 28, 2019

Swing by x

A main focus of the garden planning is creating an area that people want to be pulled to, that’s different from any other part of the house. I have always been a great admirer of the American porch – cool, shaded, sociable, restful, a place to sit and while away time without over missing the seconds ticking by. A place you want to go with a good book and a long cold drink to hide away. So on the list of musts, after pergola comes swing chair..

(All pics Pinterest)

Bring on summer!

Laters, Kate x

January 18, 2019

Angle Poise x

The plans for the office pod are rumbling on, but there’s also talk of making use of the builder when they’re here and turning the other far corner of the garden for a pergola-slash-gazebo. The thinking goes that in small London gardens we veer away from structures in the garden for fear they make a small garden look smaller, but the problem is in leaving a garden horizontal we rarely venture into it, preferring to gaze into from afar. So the aim is to build a private, roofed area that will still be useable in summer London drizzle to while away precious hours, whilst still keeping a sense of space and lightness of touch.

(All pics pinterest)

So not much to choose from then…

Laters, Kate x

July 3, 2018

Inside out x

We celebrated all that is great about the summer last week with a safari supper in our street – everyone met for drinks at the start, then we all divided into different dinner parties with each course at a different house with different people. The whole thing was a joy. The house we started at had just renovated their garden, removing worn decking and replacing it with black and white geometric tiles, not only did they sit beautifully against the green of the garden, they totally blurred the line between inside and out.

(All pics Pinterest)

A rather delectable statement.

Laters, Kate x

April 10, 2018

Hard style x

This post is a blast from the past, in recognition of the summer that’s surely around the corner..

It’s hot here in London. Silly hot – sun fat dying insects hot where the air is a physical wall of heat rising up from the baking pavements and stumbling off buildings and glass.

So why am I thinking a bit of hard landscaping is in order? Mad. But it’s not something for today but to be chewed over, slowly.

We have a pinch point in the garden just where the table is. If the flowerbed there was taken back a couple of feet it would make much spatial sense.

Besides, who does’t love a bit of cobbling? Chosen carefully it can transform the mundane and put heaven in a backyard.

Laters, Kate x

April 27, 2017

The Garden x

This was the dream: Box hedging filled in with lavender, off set with a white climbing rose. Simple. Effective. And then the Box Moth caterpillar arrived en masse and started to do it’s worst.

I tried – I went round each plant, taking off the beasts and cutting back all the plants, then hosed them down with the pressure hose, all to no avail. The buggers came back. So drastic action was needed..all the box plants have gone. My flowerbeds are a wasteland with nothing more than a couple of brave shoots. I’m desperate to re-plant and nows the time to do it, but as you can see, the fence needs replacing (the neighbours have been building an extension) it will happen, and quite soon..but nothing can go back till it does or risk builders-boot-annihilation. I hope there will still be enough time to get some summer colour…

This is the plan..when the green light does shine I’m going for blousey minimalist (I think this could be a new ‘thing’)..filling the entire bed with lavender plants and one white climbing rose.