City garden
Bristol
The brief
This garden in the centre of Bristol felt small and unusable due to the overbearing row of conifers at the far end and overgrown shrubs. The client wanted to open up the space, introduce wildlife friendly features, integrate and screen a bike store and find a new use for a raised area of lawn that was struggling to thrive.
The design
The conifers at the back of the garden were removed and replaced with less dense trees and shrubs which would still grow to provide screening, but wouldn’t form such a solid visual barrier. The raised central lawn area was converted into four raised timber beds which the client plans to use for vegetables and cut flowers. The back of the garden was cleared to make space for a compost area and bike store, screened by a trellis planted with climbers. Lots of new, pollinator-friendly planting was introduced along with a small container pond to encourage wildlife. A raised brick circle that had once been a water feature was repurposed as a raised planter for a specimen shrub.
Standout feature
Reusing materials on site rather than removing them is usually a more sustainable and budget friendly option. When the conifer trees at the back of the garden were taken down, as much as possible was retained as wood chippings and logs. The wood chip was used to cover the ground in the compost area, and a log pile was also created in this space to provide a habitat in the garden for insects.
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