Denbighshire

Date: 2023

Built By:  Base Squared

Brief: A striking contemporary garden design in Denbighshire that begins clean and minimalist in the foreground, gradually becoming softer and more wild towards as you transition to the rear. The client brief spoke of an inside-out garden, dividing the garden into ‘garden rooms’ and improving the views out and back towards the house.

A large format porcelain patio provides plenty of room for parties as it seamlessly flows out with a level threshold through the stunning Skyframe sliding doors creating a single open space. 

A small raised deck with a vertical slatted screen and a striking multi-stem Acer palmatum ‘Seiryu’ creates an intimate courtyard ideal for relaxing on a couple of comfy chairs. Vertical timber bars with a black steel frame create a striking, louvered style screen defining the terrace and the courtyard zones. Pleached trees and timber slatted screens on both sides formalise the boundaries and create a contemporary, architectural and elegant aesthetic.

The main feature of the garden is a striking shallow rill and a floating concrete bridge made by Da Vinci Designer Concrete. The calming black water beautifully mirrors the sky and adjacent weeping willow and runs the length of the patio, wrapping around the seating area creating a ‘wow’ factor when viewed from the interior. An organic, curved lawn leads the eye as it sweeps down the garden, flanked by naturalistic perennial planting to a small opening.  A small gravel path leads through to a raised Millboard raised deck.  Surrounded by a copse of multi-stem Amelanchier lamarkii and a matrix of ornamental grasses, a small oasis is created where the client can relax in front of an open fire and take in the garden from an alternative perspective.

The existing brick shed was clad with a vertical charred timber cladding, nestling the building into the background and giving it a contemporary makeover and juxtaposing against the surrounding new perennial style planting. 

The original pond and canal to the rear remain but the area is re-structured to create a woodland garden, a shade haven for wildlife and a space to forest bath and enjoy nature.