A small town garden design - Tunbridge Wells

A long and narrow garden, split on two levels, lacked character and felt disjointed. The garden has now been revitalised with a sense of style and purpose, with new features and a design that entices you in.

The new garden design provides a journey through the space: from the lower level a Corten steel sculpture acts like a picture frame, allowing a glimpse through to the garden above. As you journey up the steps, generous planting begins to soften the edges of the paving, enveloping the space before a pathway guides the eye onwards.

A modern stepping stone path glides across the lawn, guiding the eye towards the steel pergola at the end of the space. Horizontally set pavers extend into the planting border in places, creating a connection between the elements. This promotes the need to pause and guide the gaze across the space, visually extending the boundaries. Planting frames the space, and the clean lines of the borders and path cut a strong geometric feature of the lawn that contrasts beautifully with the lighter tones of the paving.

Arriving at the main seating space, a modern pergola with canopy provides a cosy feel, the use of trees along the boundaries add to the privacy, creating a peaceful sanctuary to absorb the vistas and planting where clipped topiary domes provide repetition and symmetry, accentuating the animation and colour of the perennial planting.