NEW PLANTING

This small, walled courtyard garden in Islington, with large trees just outside the walls and a sizeable paved patio, presented a number of challenges including planting around existing mature trees, a large acer and a palm, as well as established ivy all along the walls with extensive roots and narrow, shady beds that made the soil very dry and tricky to plant.

 

The new design introduced a raised bed in bricks, to mirror the brick walls and the house brickwork. The bed provides more planting space and height, while the change of material visually breaks the lines of an otherwise large and flat layout.

 

The planting scheme was designed to be sympathetic to the features and use of the site and provide structure with medium-sized flowering shrubs such as Weigela 'Florida Variegata' with clusters of funnel-shaped light pink flowers and ovate, mid-green leaves edged with creamy-white; evergreen azaleas with red and magenta flowers; evergreen Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price' with flattened clusters of deep pink buds opening to small, starry white flowers in late winter/spring followed by berries deep metallic-blue in the autumn; evergreen Choisya ternata with strong scented white flowers in the spring and again in the autumn. Climbers such as evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) with clusters of very fragrant, white flowers in mid to late summer to complement the existing deciduous jasmine (Jasminum x stephanense) producing scented pink flowers in the summer. 

Herbaceous perennials such as Geranium, Salvia, Bergenia, Brunnera, Lobellia and brightly coloured bulbs fill the gaps with colour all year round. 

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Different shapes and textures, introduced to minimise the impact of the extensive paved areas, create a rich tapestry around existing trees and shrubs.