Martina's Garden     Stile

After:  The view from the kitchen door in Kevin and Louise's garden in Broomhill, Sheffield.

Before:

Kevin had already begun work on developing the upper two tiers, by building two ponds: water from a raised pond in the middle tier was pumped up to a sunken pond in the upper tier and then returned to the lower pond via a waterfall. 

The biggest problem with the garden was that it was "bitty" and all the attractions - the ponds and the planting - were concentrated in one relatively small area.

The curved boundaries of the upper and middle tiers and the sharp drop into oblivion after the middle tier combined to give the impression of being on a ship. At Louise's suggestion we decided to build on this idea and turned the middle tier over to wooden decking. Furthermore, instead of using fencing or trellising, the boundaries would be marked with ship-like railings.

To "balance" the garden, we made three key changes: We created a new mini-pergola and seating area next to the outhouse where, to our immense good fortune, a honeysuckle and a vine were already well established. We also extended the existing ponds - by means of a rill - to reach right across the garden, and we sacrificed some lawn to add significantly more planting.

The final touch - with a view to entertaining - was the addition of lighting. Lights were fitted on the walls, in the flower beds and in the pond - 25 in all!  (Regrettably, at the time of writing we have no photographic material relating to the lighting.)

Key Benefits

Last modified: 06/11/2009