This garden was created for a young couple and their four small children. A couple of years ago, they had turned a typical Notting Hill stucco property from a tired dwelling into a beautiful and sophisticated family home, which was featured in The Times. However, the garden created then was a less successful story. Having seen the garden we designed for a friend of theirs, they asked us to come up with a new concept for their outdoor space.

They requested a funky garden design with plenty of space to entertain their friends and family. Inspired by their beloved holiday destination, Ibiza, they wanted a very cool and creative garden, with plenty of colour. We designed for them various elements: a bespoke outdoor kitchen, with top of the range built-in BBQ and storage, two-tier raised beds doubling up as seating thanks to a beautiful handcrafted hardwood bench, a green wall inspired by the clients’ favourite hotel in Paris and, last but not least, we commissioned top mosaic artist, Celia Persephone Gregory, to produce a stunning mosaic to turn the overpowering tall rear wall into a beautiful feature. A sound and lighting system and automatic irrigation were also installed. York stone, hand cut at the quarry to our specification, was used for the stone circles and the BBQ work surface. Island stone pebbles were used as infill, to offer textural contrast to the York stone.

The planting is based around architectural plants, mostly evergreen, such as Pittosporum tobira, Melianthus major, Viburnum dreamii and Libertia formosa, with summer colour provided by Geranium ‘Patricia’. On the south facing wall we provided our foodie clients with a herb green wall containing thyme, sage, oregano, mint, rosemary and tarragon.

Photographs © Clive Nichols.