Back Garden in Bounds Green

A sizeable social area, a real lawn and room to grow a few vegetables and herbs were the requests for this family garden.  We designed a series of stepped brick beds along the sunny side using handmade bricks from HG Matthews in Buckinghamshire with the satisfying grey spotting to the brick and soft brown tones to match the smokey tones of the mixed house brick.  Reclaimed Staffordshire blue paving brick, laid in a herringbone pattern, is part path / part lawn-edging, which links the house to the raised deck and provides all-season access to the vegetable beds. The simple planting structure allowed space for plants to be added over time.  The longitudinal division between sun- and shade-sides gave a natural separation between the greys and silvers of Mediterranean plants and the greens of the shade tolerant side.