Avenue Gardens

Muswell Hill front garden

mark — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:24:28 +0000

Our first job of 2012 was to transform a Muswell Hill front garden, which had mainly consisted of concrete paving. The concrete was cleared and the old boundary wall demolished. A new wall was built, and a Victorian tile path was laid, in an ornate Braemar pattern, as described in the Original Style catalogue. Scottish pebbles were laid over the main area of the garden, planted with a feature Chamaerops palm, box balls and a low hebe hedge. A tiled area for the bins was also included in the corner of the garden.

Bull-nosed steps, made from sawn sandstone, were laid at the entrance to the garden and at the step up to the front door.

The finishing touch was a sturdy garden gate from Cannock Gates, painted in a grey-blue to match the colour of the border tiles.

Review of 2011 – Victorian tiled paths

mark — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:12:26 +0000

Looking back over 2011, we had numerous front gardens to redesign, and many of them included Victorian tiled paths. In discussion with the customer, we decided on a range of patterns, taken from the Original Style tile catalogue, from the simple black and white diamond pattern to the more ornate diamond and square combinations.

These paths are especially attractive when laid in the front gardens of older North London houses, complementing their traditional brickwork particularly well. They enhance the approach to a house, adding a distinctive touch of class.

Review of 2011 – Totteridge garden completed

mark — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:51:53 +0000

Work to transform the large suburban garden in Totteridge was started in late 2010. Good progress was made on the garden build, until the heavy snow of winter 2010-11 brought work to a halt.

Work resumed after the break, with the clearance of many overgrown shrubs, a leaky pond, an old lawn and an ancient rockery. Where the garden had been largely featureless, dominated by the extensive, uneven lawn which took up much of the garden, the brief was to create a garden with much more interest, broken up into separate areas linked by a meandering path. The garden was to change gradually in satyle as you progress down the garden, from the new rockery and the formal suburban lawn past the pond and then under a pergola, through grasses to a woodland retreat beneath the mature oak on the rear boundary.

At the back of the garden we built a hardwood deck, with a circle of granite setts situated to one side, where the barbeque or firepit could be placed. The decking area was a secluded haven, hidden from the house and the lawn by the pergola, planted with fragrant climbers, and the tall perennial planting either side of the pergola.

The new pond, halfway down the garden, had a surround of grey granite setts, matching the granite circle at the rear of the garden. The pond made a great stopping-off point midway down the garden on the way to the woodland seclusion.

Getting started in Totteridge

mark — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:06:23 +0000

November sees the start of a new garden design and landscaping project in Totteridge (or is it Whetstone, it’s difficult to know). This is a large suburban garden which has been used as a family garden for several years, but as the children are getting older, now is the time that the family have decided to reassess their needs. The garden has grown, a little untidily, over the years and large trees and shrubs surround what appears to be a barely functional lawn.

The design brief was to reduce the size of the lawn, no longer needed for children’s play, clear the old defunct garden pond and come up with something interesting to the eye, varied from one space to another and more in keeping with a grown-up family.

The garden has an existing softwood deck adjacent to the house. At the far end of the garden the ownerrequested a new deck, suitable for outdoor dining and entertaining. Initially, composite decking was suggested by the owner, but examples we have seen still look like plastic. In the future, no doubt such products will be much more realistic, but I would hold off for now.

Instead I suggested Cumaru hardwood decking, which looks great, especially with a coating of Australian timber oil, and is much more durable than softwood.

Down from the existing deck will be an oval lawn, smaller than the present one. The different areas of the garden will be linked by paths of Cotswold chippings. Such a path leads past a new circular pond, edged with granite settts, then past a garden seat and on through a series of free-standing arches forming a pergola. Finally the path reaches the new hardwood deck.

The planting will change as one progresses through the garden, becoming less formal, more wild. Where boundaries are currently exposed, they will be screened with trellis and planting.

The garden will be completed with low-voltage garden lighting.

As we near the end of November, the clearance of the garden has begun, fences ar about to be fixed and construction of the decking is underway.

Hardwood fencing and more

mark — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:22:54 +0000

It is always great to work with fine materials, and this week we’ve had the chance to create a beautiful hardwood fence for a Muswell Hill garden. The brief was to screen the neighbour’s new extension adjacent to the patio. I suggested we used horizontal hardwood slats to give a contemporary effect, with sleek horizontal emphasis.

To complement this, we built a 3m long garden planter from hardwood decking boards. The planting was for a sunny south-facing site, so we chose a selection of drought-tolerant plants. The fragrant star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and honeysuckle (Lonicera ‘Hall’s Prolific) will grow up the fencing and give great pleasure during those long summer evenings spent dining in the open.

Adjacent to the patio we replanted a south-facing flower bed with a range of drought-tolerant plants. The backbone of the bed was a mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, including Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Abbotsbury Gold’. This is one of my favourites, with its pale grey-green crinkly foliage contrasting with deep purple branches. It can be trimmed, topiary-style, to form a dense hummock or alternatively can be left to grow to its full height of 3 metres. It’s excellent when planted as a hedge.

Review of 2010 – Chelmer Valley pavers

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:56:58 +0000

This year we have laid two driveways using the excellent Chelmer Valley pavers. Chelmer Valley, in their own words, produce ‘a fine fange of clay pavers and restoration bricks selected for their warnm colours’.

Our first project, in Muswell Hill, used the warm red York 2 inch pavers, which we laid in two patterns. Firstly, they were laid flat in a herringbone pattern for the main driveway area. Secondly they were laid on edge in a parallel pattern on the path leading to the front door of the house.

Our second project, in Highgate, used the Cathedral multi pavers, which are always laid on edge. Again we laid the driveway in a herringbone pattern and the paths in a parallel pattern. (More photos to come).

Review of 2010 – Loughton garden

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:02:10 +0000

The front garden of a grand house in Loughton was in dire need of renovation. The retaining walls were cracked and dangerous, the paving was a mixture of ill-matching paving materials and the sloping rockery needed a complete overhaul.

The steps paths and beds were cleared completely. Retaining walls were rebuilt in a soft red brick that matched the walls of the house. Paths around the front and side of the house were relaid in riven Indian sandstone. The piece de resistance, the grand entrance steps were rebuilt in Marshalls Fairstone sawn sandstone, with smooth bull-nosed edges.

The flower beds were rebuilt as two terraces, supported by timber sleepers laid on edge. Planting was a range of shade-tolerant plants, suited to the frequent shade of the large Cedar of Lebanon towering over the garden.

Review of 2010 – Muswell Hill garden

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:42:51 +0000

December has arrived, and it’s a chance to review the most interesting and exciting projects of the year.

In Muswell Hill I had been talking to a local family about their ideas for their large back garden since 2005. The garden was mainly covered in old-fashioned concrete paving, with raised beds all round which showed their age. At the time I was a neighbour, and after presenting them with a proposed design for their garden the project was put on hold while the garden was used for important family celebrations.We frequently crossed paths and discussed when the the garden project might would go ahead.

Finally, towards the end of 2009, the project was on. The last of the family weddings had taken place, and now it was time for the transformation of the garden.

The central area of the garden was level with the back of the house, while the raised beds had been necessary to deal with higher levels at the boundaries. I decided to keep to the existing levels to keep costs and effort down. Instead of the lumpy rectangular beds, I designed interconnecting, sweeping curves to border the garden. The concrete paving was removed and in its place I designed a sandstone patio, a large family lawn and a sandstone path leading to a second, circular, paved area at the rear for enjoying the summer evening sun. Paved areas and the lawn were edged with buff granite setts, which also gave the path a more interesting detail.

Water in the garden was very important to the owner and his family. I designed a cascade built from Purbeck limestone, complete with a powerful OASE pump to screate a stunning waterfall. Underwater lighting was used to create beautiful flickering shadows as evening falls.