The large terrace and retaining wall we built some 17 years prior to the recent informal garden design

The informal garden

Soft and colourful planting

An Euphorbia in all its acid-green glory partially obscures the decked viewing area

Shade loving plants beneath a mature purple plum tree

Good plant selection and soil preparation ensures that plants thrive despite the thin chalky soil

/planting-schemesCreating a Serene Informal Garden

For our clients, the allure of a serene garden space where they could relax and reconnect with nature was paramount. Their mature plot called for an informal garden design that embraced the natural beauty of the surroundings.

Garden Elements:

Garden Design Brief

Our task was clear: provide generous planting suitable for the thin chalk soil, create flowing lawns, integrate existing mature trees and screening and ensure ease of maintenance. Additionally, the challenge was to make a scenic spot halfway up the garden accessible to admire the view across the surrounding chalk downs.

Haywood Landscape’s Approach

Geometric Harmony

We employed a unique design technique, plotting circular arcs from carefully selected centre points to create seemingly organic, free-flowing lines within the rectangular space. This approach blended geometric forms with natural aesthetics, offering a visually pleasing layout.

Planting and Circular Lawns

Circular lawns set within the borders allowed for deep planting beds, enabling us to curate interesting plant combinations that brought the garden to life. Simple timber steps led to a raised deck, providing a perfect vantage point to admire the downs.

Soil Improvement and Camouflaging

Improving the thin chalky soil was crucial for sustaining a healthy lawn and robust plant growth. We re-graded the subsoil, added organic matter to the topsoil, and mulched the borders with bark chippings. A mature 'purple plum' tree served as camouflage for the discreetly positioned shed, complemented by an attractive raised bed with shade-loving plants.

The Results

The transformation of the garden into a serene and inviting space exceeded expectations. With its lush planting, circular lawns, and scenic viewpoints, the informal garden design offered a tranquil retreat for our clients to enjoy.

Recognising the importance of ongoing maintenance, we provided expert advice on lawn care and recommended a professional lawn care company for regular upkeep. We also committed to periodic visits to assist with tree care and pruning, ensuring the garden remained pristine for years to come.

As you know we are delighted with our garden. We felt your professionalism was first class from start to finish, your gardeners were friendly and very hard-working and we were truly amazed with the transformation from an ordinary square shape garden with its problematic levels to a colourful interesting place with curves and paths through the shrubs and flower beds to areas to sit and enjoy the garden.

Feeling inspired?

Click here or call 01227 733447 to schedule your garden design consultation.

DISCOVER OUR OTHER GARDEN DESIGN PROJECTS

A Seaside Garden

Separated from the beach only by a quiet road and with a commanding view across the English Channel, this fine property in Deal was let down by the garden. With a massively overgrown rockery and dilapidated crazy paving their coastal garden design was very dated, in a poor state, and completely unmanageable for our clients who are an elderly couple. They wanted us to come up with some suitable seaside garden ideas that would transform their garden.

A Stylish Wilding of a New Home

Our brief was to create a garden for outdoor living that would also attract wildlife, to be contemporary in style yet informal.

A Family Garden

With no existing features or character to guide the design, new-build homes with ‘blank Canvas’ plots can sometimes be more challenging to design than a more mature garden. This particular example was sloping across its entire depth and featured poor heavy clay soil. It was also an irregular awkward shape, producing lots of additional challenges.

A Contemporary Garden For Wildlife

Our client wanted a garden that would attract wildlife but not a textbook wildlife garden. She was keen to make a bold statement and wasn’t afraid of something a little out of the ordinary around her bungalow near the Kent coast

An Overlooked Garden Transformed

With a property on a large new-build development our clients were blessed with a relatively large garden, but it was set on a hillside and had an awful outlook towards tall fences, timber retaining walls and properties ‘up-slope’ looming over them.

A Striking Country Garden Design

This converted farm building was a cattle byre (or shed in plain terminology) and is set in a rural Kentish landscape

A Small Front Garden

Our client was planning improvements to her house with a new front door and other projects and felt the garden let the property down. It was scruffy and uninteresting and reflected poorly on her nice home.

A Modern Garden for Outdoor Living

As is often the case, when you move home, the garden you take on may not reflect your style or needs; it may be bigger or have elements that simply do not fit with your plans for enjoying your outdoor space. This was exactly the dilemma facing our clients near Faversham as they took on an awkward-shaped sloping garden...

A traditional country garden

Making the most of the natural beauty of the Kent countryside, a traditional country garden should reflect its outlying landscape character. Lending itself to a free-flowing, informal planting scheme, the more traditional rural landscape design will often feature wildflowers, natural water, some kitchen and cottage garden elements, and softer themes.

A Large Garden To Compliment Contemporary Hanse Haus

Much like the Hanse Haus home it accompanies, this large formal garden is uncomplicated and professionally delivered with clean lines and a contemporary design.

A Creative Drainage Solution

We were asked to specify and quote for the installation of a land drainage system for a large garden that routinely flooded in the winter. The soil was deep, heavy clay in a flat low-lying area with nowhere to drain to. We proposed a more creative solution:

An Informal Garden

One of the joys of being in a beautiful garden is that it helps us to relax and reconnect with nature. This is particularly so in a well-designed informal garden which our clients wish for their mature plot.