About This Project

About the Pre-makeover garden

This medium sized back garden is located in Highwoods, Colchester. It belongs to a semi-detached house which, although not technically a newbuild, is fairly modern. This property was built in the late 1990’s and, typically for its age and style, is overlooked from many angles.

Prior to its redesign, the garden contained a shed, a deck, a tiny patio, a gravelled area and a lawn.

The client brief

Our clients asked for a versatile family back garden. Safety for the young family was key, but at the same time, the garden needed to accommodate lots of different activities. Some for adults, some for children, some for pets. Mr and Mrs H particularly wanted garden lighting, so that they could enjoy the garden all year round. A seating area for relaxing and entertaining was a must. Also on the wish list was a child-friendly water feature. Most of all, they wanted a stylish outdoor space that they could enjoy all year round.

The garden design

Every landscaping project needs a well thought out design to work to. Our colleagues at Tapestry Design Studios re-imagined this garden with a series of interlocking squares to make the space feel much larger.

An angled patio next to the house leads onto a soft lawn – idea for children’s play – and then to a decked area with a pergola. We fitted the pergola with a 1.5 kW halogen heater to allow for all year round barbecuing and entertainment.

Katie from Tapestry Design Studios, recommended a garden lighting system that is remotely controlled using modern technology. This looks wonderful with the contemporary raised water feature.

The planting plan included trees to screen the garden and create a more private, secluded space. Elsewhere in the garden, we planted in herbaceous perennial plants in bold swathes for a strong and eyecatching display.

Family back garden Colchester: The challenges

The clay soil in the garden needed to be replaced with good quality topsoil in order to support a wider range of plants. To control the cost of the excavations, we raised the middle and rear sections of the garden, incorporated drainage and brought in new topsoil.

The finished garden

Working with Tapestry Design Studis, we created a stylish family back garden in Colchester that can be used with confidence all year round. The garden was built in 2012 and we returned in 2016 to replace the natural lawn with artificial grass. This means that the garden is not only practical and interesting – it’s lower maintenance too.

What our client says

“Dear Chris and Paul, Thank you for our beautiful garden. We use our garden at every opportunity and our children love the different shapes, levels and the water feature! The garden at night is stunning, we enjoy having friends round for barbeques and we have actually used the barbeque in the snow, thanks to the pergola and heater.”