Mylandscapes: This ½-acre natural family garden in North London’s Whetstone is truly a rarity in its seclusion, size and a contemporary naturalistic design, conserving nature and growing purely native plants to sustain broad biodiversity for wildlife and well-being for the owners. Photos were taken 1 year after planting.
When our clients enlisted us in 2018 to redesign their landscape garden, their 2,000-sqm sylvan outdoor space was terribly neglected, overgrown, weedy and centrally occupied by a disintegrating concrete tennis court. We designed a naturalistic landscape garden, using only reclaimed, sustainable natural materials with purely native plants, building it over 3 months in the UK’s hottest summer on record. Renovations included a new tiled patio, steps and retaining walls near the house, site banking, a curved natural stone retaining wall, a tiled basketball court, sunken trampoline, circular stone fire pit and a curvilinear hardwood deck.
Planting is mainly native, with some naturalised species, where we planted Anemone, Armeria, Bellflower, Bugle, Dogwood, ferns, Field maple, Foxglove, Galium, Geranium, grasses, Guelder rose, Hazelnut, Hemp agrimony, Iris, Lily of the valley, Meadowsweet, Pasque flower, Primula, Purple Loosestrife, Rowan, Sea kale, Silver birch, Spindle rushes, Willow, Yarrow & Walnut. The curved deck anchors the site, pivoted at bottom left by the foot of a mature existing Ash tree, providing vantage views of the whole site, draped by a native corner Willow tree. Within the inverted curve, we made a low round stone fire pit, where the two elements coalesce in shape.
Stone steps interspersed with plants lead to the lower meadow, flanked by two native Spindle trees (Euonymus europaeus ‘Red Cascade’). By the basketball court, a stone bench enjoys the shade of a large existing Oak tree. Near the tree, we planted native silver birch trees, red-stemmed dogwoods, rushes and ferns.
Ornamental grasses include Briza media, Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', Calamagrostis epigejos, Deschampsia cespitosa, Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula nivea & Stipa calamagrostis. We created crevice pockets in the stone wall which retains the deck, incorporating many shade plants: 5 native fern species, 3 bellflowers and Bugle.
In a site already containing a plethora of native species such as Hawthorn, Holly, Ivy, Oak, Ash & Hazelnut, extending this palette was simply an environmental no-brainer. The new facilities cater for every family member, including a teenager, 2 youngsters, cats & dogs. Basketball shooting, Trampoline bouncing, grass and chilling by the flames of the firepit, there is something for everyone, and most importantly plenty of shelter, food and precious biodiversity for local wildlife.
