ISLINGTON

Buff coloured Porcelain treads with bull nosing, cement rendered and white painted risers, Buff coloured porcelain paving, simple black steel garden gate, Trachelospermum jasminoides climber, contemporary slatted bin store, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Gravel Garden, Alliums, Olive Tree, Contemporary porcelian paving, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Gravel Garden, terracotta pots, Mediterranean planting, Allium 'Purple Rain', Olive Tree, English Lavender, Stipa tenuissima, Erigeron karvinskianus, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Erigeron karvinskianus, terracotta pot, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Allium 'Purple Rain', Stipa tenuissima, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Knarled olive tree trunk, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Lavandula angustifolia, Stipa tenuissima, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Buff coloured Porcelain path, buff coloured porcelain stair treads with bull nosing, Islington front garden, Taryn Ferris Gardens

Project Brief:

Transform a neglected front garden into a smart and chic design for a handsome period home.

This front garden design has been devised to complement this elegant property in Islington and significantly enhance the curb appeal of the property within a smart residential street.

The planting design is kept classically med-feeling with lavender, sun-loving grasses and an olive tree in the centre. On the old iron boundary fence an existent (and vigourous!) rambling rose adds little wildness to a classic rectilinear planting scheme.

Two new low retaining walls were rendered and painted white to connect the garden with the house, and divide the space between the hard standing and the gravel garden. The walls also help to divide the space between the refuse area and the entrance - effectively creating ‘zones’. To house the bins we commissioned a bespoke-made timber slatted bin store which was designed to visually connect with the timber baton screening above the basement door. The paint colour was matched to the property doors to keep the scheme cohesive.

The basement and first floor stairs were clad with buff-coloured bull-nosed porcelain treads to continue the high end finish, and a contrast of textures between the smooth porcelain paving and sharp gravel describe a visual threshold between the approach to the house and the garden.

A new front garden wall was built using London stock bricks to blend with the period property, finished with a simple black metal garden gate to keep the feel contemporary and chic. Star jasmine graces planting pockets on an approach to the front door, and delivers a sweet scent in the early summer evenings - a delightful welcome home.