Contemporary Garden for Entertaining in the Chilterns
BRIEF
This contemporary garden in Chinnor was designed to provide generous seating where the owners could eat outside and entertain friends and family.
They wanted a relatively low-maintenance garden that would work well for everyday life as well as social occasions.
The property was a new build with an unusual L-shaped plot wrapping around the back of the garage.
One part of the garden enjoyed a wonderful open view towards the Chiltern Hills, and making the most of this outlook became an important part of the design.
The garden backed onto fields, although drainage was poor along the boundary, making the existing lawn particularly unsuccessful in this area.
DESIGN SOLUTION
We created a new terrace adjacent to the house with comfortable lounge furniture, providing an easy everyday connection between indoors and outdoors.
A separate dining area covered by a pergola was positioned closer to the far boundary specifically to take advantage of the view towards the Chiltern Hills. Placing this and other usable elements along the boundary also allowed us to remove areas of lawn that would have continued to struggle because of the poor drainage.
The rear wall of the garage extended prominently into the garden and created a substantial expanse of brick. Rather than simply screening it, we used it to help create the feeling of an outdoor room. Decorative screens animate one section of wall, while espaliered fruit trees were positioned against the sunnier face. These fruit trees form part of a raised productive area for herbs, fruit and vegetables, combining practical growing space with the wider garden design.
The planting scheme uses repeated groups from a deliberately restrained number of species. This gives the planting greater visual impact while helping meet the clients’ requirement for relatively easy maintenance.
The result is a contemporary garden created on a modest budget, structured around entertaining, outdoor living and the relationship with the Chiltern landscape beyond.
