Wandsworth Common

The clients were undertaking a basement conversion that would cut into their front and back gardens, reducing the space and necessitating a re-design. They wanted a useable, open space including a pond with running water, a bike shelter and a dog proof/low maintenance artificial lawn. The levels needed to be completely reworked to create the open space required but the very rear of the garden had to be maintained in order to preserve some much loved climbing roses on the back fence.

Aesthetically the garden needed to blend with the style and architecture of the re-designed house – a fusion of contemporary and traditional with aspects of the original Victorian features reflected in new detailing. We wanted to extend this fusion into the design and materials used in the garden.

The architect specified a square raised terrace outside the main kitchen door which took a notch out of the space, which we balanced with a similarly dimensioned square for a feature tree in the opposite corner. A Victorian style path from granite setts and gravel links all the areas of the garden. The soil levels at the rear of the garden were maintained by creating a bank of raised beds to match the rear elevation of the house. The lower tier of these beds houses a pond fed by a water blade from the level above. The pond is surrounded by stone coping that extends to border two big beds planted with cottage style plants and provides a nice surface to perch on by the water. New bespoke slatted trellis compliments the design and build of a bike shelter which also provides a covered porch for the rear gate.

For the feature square we sourced a lovely, multi stem Quercus suber that is architectural in form but gorgeously old and established looking in texture – like the best of us. Lighting is subtle, picking out key trees and shrubs at night.

It was a pleasure to work on this project with Roger Keusch of Roger Keusch Architecture and Design www.keusch.co.uk. Mariusz Dymowski and his team at DM General Builders, www.dmgeneralbuilders.co.uk. The garden was built for us by Tecwyn Evans and his team at The Real Garden Company www.the-real-garden-company.com.


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