This front garden features vibrant colour, structural grasses and drought tolerant planting. The clients wanted replace the existing lawn and tired shrubs with more contemporary low maintenance planting to create a welcoming space for their young family.
The brief was to fill the south facing space with wildlife friendly planting with height, colour and year round interest inspired by the Grasslands Garden at Horniman Museum Gardens. The planting also had to mask the neighbours' cars and wheelie bins to create an all encompassing space the children - and local wildlife - could explore and hide in.
The site was sunny and protected so we planned to use miscanthus grasses with tall stipas; colourful flowering plants such as echinacea, rudbeckia and salvia; and more permanant structure was created with mounding lavender and euphorbia.
Gravel was used to repress weeds to cut down on maintenance and retain moisture through hot spells. The garden is now full of life - the owners have spotted a hummingbird hawk moth enjoying the nectar and a goldfinch drinking from the bird bath.
