A Tiny Terrace Garden Gets a Lush Makeover
Lush ferns, plus bamboo and banana plants, have been used to create an urban jungle with a difference
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So when Antonia Schofield’s new neighbours fell in love with her tropical outdoor space, the garden designer agreed to create another version for them. “They already knew what they wanted, but weren’t sure if it would be possible in such a small space,” explains Schofield. “As soon as they saw my garden they thought ‘This is what we want! These are exactly the sort of plants that we like.’” The result is a vibrant, verdant sanctuary in the city providing privacy and space for entertaining.
Photos by Antonia Schofield and Sarah Cuttle
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: East Dulwich, London, UK
Garden size: 21x15 feet, 344 square feet (6.5 meters x 4.5 meters; 32 square meters)
Property type: Terrace house
Designer: Antonia Schofield
“I’ve done classic gardens, romantic, contemporary, rustic – always working to the client’s brief – but this is very much my personal taste,” says garden designer Schofield of this glorious, pint-sized oasis. “I love exotic, jungly plants and they grow well in London because we’ve got a bit of a microclimate here.” Her clients, who are neighbours and have since become firm friends, are artist Graham Clayton and his partner. Clayton has been known to use the space as something of an alfresco gallery, displaying bronze casts of his work as part of the annual Artists’ Open House event in the area.
Clearly a visual couple, the pair had plenty of ideas about what they wanted to see when they opened their kitchen doors. Schofield was happy to oblige. “Ninety-nine per cent of my clients have no plant knowledge, but these guys really know their plants. If anything they pushed me to experiment and be bolder and find more unusual specimens.”
A bamboo backdrop is punctuated by flame-coloured crocosmia (Crocosmia sp.). The huge white pot of purple agapanthus (Agapanthus sp.) is often moved around the space.
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: East Dulwich, London, UK
Garden size: 21x15 feet, 344 square feet (6.5 meters x 4.5 meters; 32 square meters)
Property type: Terrace house
Designer: Antonia Schofield
“I’ve done classic gardens, romantic, contemporary, rustic – always working to the client’s brief – but this is very much my personal taste,” says garden designer Schofield of this glorious, pint-sized oasis. “I love exotic, jungly plants and they grow well in London because we’ve got a bit of a microclimate here.” Her clients, who are neighbours and have since become firm friends, are artist Graham Clayton and his partner. Clayton has been known to use the space as something of an alfresco gallery, displaying bronze casts of his work as part of the annual Artists’ Open House event in the area.
Clearly a visual couple, the pair had plenty of ideas about what they wanted to see when they opened their kitchen doors. Schofield was happy to oblige. “Ninety-nine per cent of my clients have no plant knowledge, but these guys really know their plants. If anything they pushed me to experiment and be bolder and find more unusual specimens.”
A bamboo backdrop is punctuated by flame-coloured crocosmia (Crocosmia sp.). The huge white pot of purple agapanthus (Agapanthus sp.) is often moved around the space.
The garden was transformed after the clients’ kitchen was extended. “Because they were pinching space from the garden they wanted to bring the garden into the house as well,” explains Schofield. Pots filled with fig trees, palms and exotic climbers help to blend the boundary between the house and the garden, especially when the bifold doors are open. “You get a real sense of it being all one space.”
Follow these 7 steps to create a kitchen garden in an apartment
Follow these 7 steps to create a kitchen garden in an apartment
The back fence has been painted black to emphasise the green stems of the bamboo.
A mixture of flooring adds visual interest underfoot. “They wanted to keep a tiny strip of herringbone brick from the previous garden,” says Schofield. “Then I used an Indian sandstone in a grey/brown tone because of its weathered, vintage look.”
Stone: Mandarin Stone
Stone: Mandarin Stone
The orientation of the garden gave Schofield plenty of flexibility over the choice of plants she used. “It faces due south so semi-tender plants were fine. My clients specifically wanted tree ferns, too, so there’s lots them, as well as ginger lilies (Hedychium sp.), daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.), grasses – anything that would give that semi-tropical feel.”
Most of Schofield’s clients want low-maintenance gardens and this couple were no exception. “This particular garden is very low-maintenance – there’s an irrigation system in there, so if they go on holiday for a few weeks they just turn that on and everything’s happy.”
Check out these simple ways to create a calming, minimalist garden
Check out these simple ways to create a calming, minimalist garden
Ceramicist Graham Clayton uses the garden to display his work at the annual Artists’ Open House event every May in Dulwich.
Before
The space used to be dominated by a raised deck. “There was nothing to it really – just a few scabby old plants around the sides,” says Schofield. “And the guys didn’t like the fact that when you were standing on the deck you were overlooked. They wanted a secluded area, so I dropped the floor level right back down to the ground and created some fairly high boundary walls.” Banana and bamboo plants now form a privacy screen.
The space used to be dominated by a raised deck. “There was nothing to it really – just a few scabby old plants around the sides,” says Schofield. “And the guys didn’t like the fact that when you were standing on the deck you were overlooked. They wanted a secluded area, so I dropped the floor level right back down to the ground and created some fairly high boundary walls.” Banana and bamboo plants now form a privacy screen.
Before
The work in progress just after the L-shaped raised beds were created. “Space was so limited and this asymmetrical layout made sense,” Schofield says. “The raised bed had to be deep enough to house a big bank of bamboos, which are the main screening. There’s also a ground-level border to the other side.”
The work in progress just after the L-shaped raised beds were created. “Space was so limited and this asymmetrical layout made sense,” Schofield says. “The raised bed had to be deep enough to house a big bank of bamboos, which are the main screening. There’s also a ground-level border to the other side.”
Schofield recycled the old decking boards to make storage benches on castors. “Because the space is tiny everything had to be quite flexible. My clients wanted to be able to choose whether to sit in the sun or the shade and have somewhere to invite people round, have some drinks and maybe some food in the garden.”
Take a look at these 8 outdoor seating ideas
Take a look at these 8 outdoor seating ideas
As well as an abundance of green foliage, the garden features pretty pops of floral colour, such as this daylily. “The garden was first created in 2011 and it’s grown so much. It really is an evolving process because the owners are so keen to try new plants. They’re always replanting and trying out new stuff.”
Although Schofield works on a wide range of projects, she is somewhat evangelical about the tropical look. “Sometimes people look at these jungly gardens and they think ‘How do I handle this?’, but they’re actually very easy. Grasses and architectural plants don’t require much pruning. There’s only a couple of tricky plants that need special care, the rest of it looks after itself.”
Read more:
Green Tour: A Tiny Garden Sparkles With Art
Tell us:
What do you think of this lush city garden? Tell us your thoughts to the Comments below.
Read more:
Green Tour: A Tiny Garden Sparkles With Art
Tell us:
What do you think of this lush city garden? Tell us your thoughts to the Comments below.
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Are any of these tropical trees a problem, being so near to the house foundations and structure?
Wonderful
Hi,
What other fast growing tall plants can be grown to cover the overlooking neighbours and fence.
What is an approximate expected cost for garden designer to design and plant for a garden. I would love to get some advice on what to plant and where