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constant gardener - bespoke garden design northern ireland

Private garden, Killinchy, Co. Down

Surrounded by farms, deep in the drumlin countryside of Co. Down, to the west of Strangford Lough, this garden is across a shared private lane from the house, and is raised approximately five feet above the lane.

Create a new entertaining area in front of the existing summer house
Provision of screening from the lane running through the property and protection from a strong wind coming up the hill.
Redevelop the areas to the side of the shed which housed the existing compost areas and assorted bric a brack.
Incorporate / recycle / reuse as much as possible that was already in the garden including plants, and use vernacular materials and styles.
Plenty of new planting space.
New compost area.
Sympathetic response to existing garden design, the house and country setting.

Private garden, Bangor, Co. Down

This is a small north facing back garden near the coast.

Client Brief: The clients were in their early 60's, enjoyed gardening but didn't want to spend too much time on it. The view from the house was as important as the use of the garden as there were large picture windows to the back of the house. They wanted to incorporate the following into the design:

Space to use the garden to relax, entertain, work and garden
Hide bins, pipes and manholes
Easy maintenance
Get rid of lawn
Bring light into the garden
New compost area.
Improve boundary the right of the dining room looking out
Planting to be predominantly blue, white and cream
Wildlife friendly
Space to grow vegetables and flowers for cutting for the house

Private garden, Dromore, Co. Down

This garden had a large overgrown and congested herbaceous bed which hadn't been touched in 11 years. It had become stale and had a short period of interest in late summer. All the plants had been planted through landscape fabric. The colours were predominatly oranges, red and yellow. The client preferred pinks and blues

I advised the client on the following and carried out the work.

To dig out, divide and and save the best plants
Remove the landscape fabric, improve the soil, with manure, compost and organic fertilisers
Extend the period of interest from early spring to late autumn by using bulbs
Replanted using fresh plants and the saved plants
Added small stepping stones, reclaimed from elsewhere on the property to make maintenance easier