from Friday, May 8, 2015 ●●●●● SEE IT 61

Circles,steps andslopes allcombine

T his garden, which we completedearlier this year for a retired couple,backs on to the River Frome inFrenchay and almost becomes part

of the river valley as it slopes towards thebottom of the garden.

There is a wonderful backdrop of nativedeciduous trees, which means there is a greatview across to Frenchay during the wintermonths, when the trees are bare. The viewcloses up from late spring and the garden isenclosed by a varied green woodland.

The garden had been landscaped near thehouse, but further down towards the woods thelawn sloped away and the space was in need ofa new approach.

We decided to level the lower lawn and makeit circular. The effect of such a circle within agarden gives an illusion that the space is biggerthan it is. This is particularly useful in smallspaces. In this case, the circle also gave us spacein the corners of the garden to build differentfeatures.

The back door leads out into one suchcorner and we were able to create a smalloctagonal seating area in a place which affordsthe best views across the garden and over to thefar river bank and fields beyond. This is also thecorner that gets the last of the evening sun.

Curved steps lead down from here to agravel path which skirts the circular lawn.Further steps lead to the lower section of thegarden, which includes a raised vegetable bed.

In the lower corner we built a raised circulardeck, with a small bench and pergola. This is agreat place to sit as you feel you are sitting on adeck suspended in the woods. The deck acts asa landing from which further steps lead to thebottom path.

At the end of the path, in the oppositecorner of the garden, is a small potting shed,which has a large window framing a view of thewoods, while further natural light is let in

through an angled rooflight. This light makesthe shed ideal for bringing on seedlings andover-wintering fragile plants.

There is a generous wooden bench in theshed, with a hinged lid, hiding a place to putspare pots. Sitting on the bench you are aslikely to stare into the woods as get down tosome serious potting! Tucked around the sideof the shed is a water butt, which is filled fromrainwater off the roof, and a compost bin,which recycles the serious amount of organicwaste produced by a garden of this size.

A small patio with fan pergola overhead is

tucked into the corner diagonally opposite theback door. This gets sun for a large part of theday and is accessed via stepping stones runningaround the lawn perimeter.

Finally, back up near the house we have builta raised deck, which leads out from the livingroom patio doors. With toughened glass bal-usters, this last space gives a great overview ofthe garden and the surrounding views.

■ To contact Tom Phillips at All Garden Designs,email via the website www.allgardendesigns.co.uk, orcall 0117 951 1923, or 07739 456765.

Gardening Tom Phillips transformed asloping garden beside the River Frome