Yard of the Week: Overlooked Space Becomes a Shady Retreat
Trees, water and a zoned design create separate destinations in this yard, each offering a pocket of intimate space
This mostly east-facing yard in London posed several challenges for landscape designer Nigel Gomme. Its position meant it was shady, with the row houses at the back blocking light in the morning and the tall Victorian row the home belongs to creating shade later in the day. The yard was also heavily overlooked, with the view back toward the house flanked on either side by dozens of neighboring windows.
By designing separate destinations in the landscape and adding trees to create screening and greenery above head height, where it was most needed, Gomme transformed an almost unused space into a calm and private retreat. The yard now extends seamlessly from the house and looks beautiful year-round, ensuring it’s used and enjoyed often by the owners.
By designing separate destinations in the landscape and adding trees to create screening and greenery above head height, where it was most needed, Gomme transformed an almost unused space into a calm and private retreat. The yard now extends seamlessly from the house and looks beautiful year-round, ensuring it’s used and enjoyed often by the owners.
Before: This shot shows how the backyard looked before Gomme’s redesign. “It was long and narrow with some nasty artificial grass at the back and not much of interest in it. The owners had used it a bit but not enjoyed the experience,” he says. “The key challenge was to create intimacy and privacy without killing the light.”
This plan shows how Gomme created three zones, or destinations, in the landscape, each with bench seating and different surfaces to distinguish them. “Magic happens with odd numbers,” he says. “I often subdivide [landscapes] into three, never two. One is OK, but if you can have three … ”
Understand Your Site Plan for a Better Landscape Design
Understand Your Site Plan for a Better Landscape Design
After: Closest to the house is a polished concrete patio, to match the flooring of the interior. Then there’s slate and, at the rear, wood decking. Gomme also incorporated a level change to emphasize the different areas. “It’s a flat plot, and was slightly uninteresting, so I introduced a step-up to create some three-dimensionality,” he says.
Purple cranesbill (Geranium psilostemon, USDA zones 5 to 7; find your zone) adds a patch of intense pink above the bench.
Purple cranesbill (Geranium psilostemon, USDA zones 5 to 7; find your zone) adds a patch of intense pink above the bench.
The fencing is made of cedar slats. Gomme’s inspiration stems partly from his travels — he’s spent time in Japan and loves Japanese design. “It’s traditional in Japan to use cedar wood vertically like this,” he says. “It’s often used around doorways and I was always struck by how modern it looks.”
Evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides, Zone 8) grows up the fence. “It will flower in almost full shade, so long as it gets just a flash of sun, and it smells great,” the designer says. “Anything graphic and linear teamed with planting becomes extra intense. You get a strong contrast between the vertical lines and the natural forms.”
Why You Should Consider a Landscape Screen for Your Yard
Evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides, Zone 8) grows up the fence. “It will flower in almost full shade, so long as it gets just a flash of sun, and it smells great,” the designer says. “Anything graphic and linear teamed with planting becomes extra intense. You get a strong contrast between the vertical lines and the natural forms.”
Why You Should Consider a Landscape Screen for Your Yard
Trees are an important component of the design, creating necessary privacy and cover. “They are key architectural elements that make a [yard] more [homey], relaxing and intimate,” Gomme says. “Here, they provide canopies of greenery that structure the space and screen off neighboring properties, so you can sit on any of the benches and it feels secluded.”
The tree in the middle of the yard is a kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa, zones 5 to 8). “It’s a lovely, small, elegant tree with white flowers like origami,” Gomme says, “and it doesn’t mind shade.” Against the wall is a cherry. “Cherry trees work here. They get enough sun because they grow tall enough to reach it,” Gomme says.
He also introduced water, with a reflecting pool just beyond the polished concrete patio that mirrors and aligns with the tall window in the house. “It’s like glazing in liquid form and it reflects the sky,” he says.
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The tree in the middle of the yard is a kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa, zones 5 to 8). “It’s a lovely, small, elegant tree with white flowers like origami,” Gomme says, “and it doesn’t mind shade.” Against the wall is a cherry. “Cherry trees work here. They get enough sun because they grow tall enough to reach it,” Gomme says.
He also introduced water, with a reflecting pool just beyond the polished concrete patio that mirrors and aligns with the tall window in the house. “It’s like glazing in liquid form and it reflects the sky,” he says.
Shop for garden benches on Houzz
The benches are made from rolled steel beams. “I saw [a photo in which] someone had used steel to make a bench in an interior. I thought it could be brilliant in a [landscape],” Gomme says.
He got the steel beams cut to size and galvanized, then used cedar for the seat. “We only use FSC-certified timber,” Gomme says.
He got the steel beams cut to size and galvanized, then used cedar for the seat. “We only use FSC-certified timber,” Gomme says.
There’s another water feature at the back of the yard. “The sound of flowing water is peaceful and it can cancel out other noise,” Gomme says. “It’s a great element to have in the [yard], particularly when combined with trees: The water reflects sunlight onto the underside of the trees and the tree canopies reflect the sound of the water back into the [landscape].”
All the water features are custom. “I used chopped-down steel H-beams as spouts to match the H-beam legs of the benches,” Gomme says.
He also used yew hedging here and there. “It creates some blocks of green and hides bits of unsightly wall,” he says.
All the water features are custom. “I used chopped-down steel H-beams as spouts to match the H-beam legs of the benches,” Gomme says.
He also used yew hedging here and there. “It creates some blocks of green and hides bits of unsightly wall,” he says.
LED strip lighting fitted to the underside of the fence washes the wall with light. It’s also installed under the bench at the back of the yard and in both water features.
Pink hydrangeas and the contrasting white ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, zones 3 to 9) add color, while Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra, zones 4 to 9) softens the edges of the patio and beneath the bench.
Pink hydrangeas and the contrasting white ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, zones 3 to 9) add color, while Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra, zones 4 to 9) softens the edges of the patio and beneath the bench.
The water feature at the rear of the yard is fringed with white alliums and masterwort (Astrantia major ‘Alba’, zones 4 to 7). The large-leaved rodgersia (Rodgersia podophylla, zones 5 to 8), which is shade-tolerant and likes being near water, adds lush greenery.
Colors in the yard move from green, white and intense pink in the summer to warmer tones later in the year. The Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, zones 5 to 8), which thrives in a shady spot by the house, “has the reddest leaves in autumn,” Gomme says.
A ‘Grace’ smoke tree (Cotinus ‘Grace’, zones 4 to 9) turns translucent red. “And when the color drains from hydrangeas, they also still look really nice,” Gomme says.
Mindful of using water sustainably, he installed an automatic irrigation system, which delivers water to the roots so less is lost to evaporation and runoff. “Hard surfaces slope toward planted beds and the decking is free-draining too, so rainwater is kept within the [yard] and utilized,” Gomme says.
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A ‘Grace’ smoke tree (Cotinus ‘Grace’, zones 4 to 9) turns translucent red. “And when the color drains from hydrangeas, they also still look really nice,” Gomme says.
Mindful of using water sustainably, he installed an automatic irrigation system, which delivers water to the roots so less is lost to evaporation and runoff. “Hard surfaces slope toward planted beds and the decking is free-draining too, so rainwater is kept within the [yard] and utilized,” Gomme says.
More on Houzz
Read more landscape design guides
Browse thousands of outdoor photos
Work with a landscape contractor in your area
Shop for outdoor products
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two teenagers
Location: West London
Size: 1,200 square feet (111 square meters); approximately 20 by 62 feet (6 meters by 19 meters)
Landscape designer: Nigel Gomme of Cityscapers
The owners moved into this house a year or two before hiring Gomme, during which time they renovated the entire property. The architect working on the house, Giles Lovegrove of Trace Architects, recommended the landscape designer to the owners. Gomme in turn used Lovegrove’s design for the rear of the house as inspiration.
“The window is amazing,” Gomme says. “It’s like they’ve taken a slice out of the building and glazed it. When there’s bold design like this in a house, it’s nice to create some visual connection with it in the [yard]. I wanted to find a way of reflecting that in the landscape, which I’ve done quite literally with a band of water and planting.”
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