LONG FRONT GARDEN DESIGN

Middlesex

This is a long, narrow front garden in an urban environment. Originally a concrete path ran in a straight line from the gate to the front door and the rest was a long narrow, uneven lawn.

Hard landscaping is kept to a minimum as this is really a plantsmans garden. The cobble path is achieved with a concreting technique called 'exposed aggregate finish'. Unlike making the path by pushing the pebbles into cement, here they are an integral part of the concrete and as such, are far less likely to come loose.

A simple pond has been made using a butyl liner and a few slabs under the front room window provide a space for a bench to sit on and admire the garden.

This garden is packed with plants and provides a great deal of colour and excitement throughout the year.

A good deal of work has been done to improve the clay soil by working in lots of compost and mulching with leaf mould. This has got plenty of organic matter into the ground to encourage life into the soil. The work paid dividends as the plants, which were mostly from 0.5 and 1 litre pots for the herbaceous and 2 litres for the shrubs, grew and established to what you see here in just two years.

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