Informal Family Garden

This is a garden for an active, outdoors family.

A circle motif on the parapet of the house provided the starting point for the design, and was found echoed in lichen-patterned rocks on Arthurs Seat. These naturally-occurring geometries were reminiscent of the beautifully poised paintings of Laslov Moholy-Nagy who used nature’s constructs as a basis for his art and inspired us to create a dynamic layout of circles, lines and rectangles.

A blend of warm, subtly coloured sandstones in different sizes and textures was used to bring a sense of movement through the garden, from the formal patio across the circular lawn to the more intimate dining circle in a grove of berrying rowan trees.

A crisp, contemporary wooden arch and screen, detailed with the circle motif, leads from the dining terrace to the kitchen garden. Brightly painted wooden raised beds make this a cheerful area to grow salad, vegetables, berries, plums and apples. 

The planting design interweaves the colours and textures of soft and naturalistic perennials and grasses, to create a variety of wildlife habitats throughout the garden. The colour palette begins with pastels in spring and builds through the summer, becoming bolder and richer through reds, violets and blues, unified by the slate grey backdrop of the house extension, fence and arch. Providing division and inviting exploration beyond is a fresh green beech hedge curving round the lawn, sloping to echo the movement in the wider landscape.

The new front garden is open and inviting, allowing ease of access and gives a foretaste of the main garden through the repeated use of beautiful sandstones and a naturalistic planting style.