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In this week's episode,we're going to take a look at all the secrets to creating a
modern style of garden
and there's also going to be a book giveaway at the end. Now, everyone knows how vital a plan is
for building a house.
Yet very few people realize, a plan is just as critical
for creating a stunning garden. I'm Rachel Matthews and I've been a professional international
garden designer for over 20 years. I;m also an author and I teach garden design online.
My mission is to show you just how much difference good design
can make to your garden.
Now, when you design a modern style of garden
that doesn't tend to look like is a great deal going on on the paper
because the design is so simple and straightforward,
when you do them and you sort of look at it and think, "Oh, have I really done enough?"
So, in this episode I'm gonna show you how
to do less on the paper. Now, there's that Ericsson phrase,
"less is more". And for modern garden design, it really is true.
Complete lie if anyone tells you that's piece of cake. It's not.
But for modern garden design, it most definitely is. So, if you remember back to
our very first episode where we looked at the California garden,
which was this one. Although, they're completely different gardens, completely
different
brief. I've kinda done the similar thing with the design by the pinching in
in the middle and having two different areas.
So if I now show you the color,
smaller color version of this, be a little bit easier.
Okay. So, what did we do with this one? As I've said, we pinched it in the middle
so that we've got kinda two separate areas and once again I've used that trick of having
all the materials running
from top to bottom rather than from left to right so that we accentuate
the lengths that's in the garden. Now, with this garden we've got
patio doors from here to here. Where as with our California garden,
we're very lucky that the garden went
off more to one side so it it was very easy to divide it because this is not
actually lined up with the house.
Where as this one, we haven't got that because the whole garden is being viewed.
So, I had to be very careful with how I divided
the space. So, what I've done is I've taken
the edge of this window line here and I've run the deck from that so that line
is just standing in the house.
It ties in with that view and I've used that to help me get this area here.
Now, initially I did want to line it up perfectly with the
middle of the door but it just made it too big
and the couple do have a young son and they wanted to
to be able to have him to have some grass to play on.
So, I had to be a little bit careful with with what I did. So the lawn needed to
be the more dominant
size area. And this area, we put a
one of these raised rendered pools in with the cascade water features
that are very nice.
But if that's not within budget, this could just have been planting coming out.
And then from the kitchen here you're looking out onto the hardwood
deck and with the slabs running this way and
the decking, what happens it creates a false perspective because your eyes will
run down the lines of the paving in the decking.
But also, because the decking is so much narrower
than the paving, that again will enhance the false perspective by making
the smaller pieces, they'll look even longer
and this area will feel further away from the house and it actually
is. But also to make this a usable area because this is where the sun is
for a lot of the day. I put in the seating area so we got our
arranged rendered wall planter from here to here.
And then the seating in front of that as you can see in the sketch there,
so this, you know, you could pop cushions and maybe have a table in the
middle, so this could be really nice area for entertaining.
And then so that looks good at night, we've got a row of LED lighting
coming up in the decking and they are also casting light along the bottom
of the seat bench seat here. So that's gonna make it look really cozy and also there's gonna be
a couple of lights
uplighting the cascade water feature here so that again that's gonna look
stunning at night.
Now I've also put quite a high back to
the water feature but with some black bamboos or something
of that sort of statue behind it because when you can see everything in one go,
your eyes automatically assume that there must be more around the corner.
So although I've, technically speaking blocked off
that view of garden, because you can see some stuff poking out behind it
that sort of
intrigue in the brain, sort of "Ooh, I wonder what's around there?" or "There must be more
stuff."
So again that makes the area look and feel larger and then so that we've got this
sort of blend of materials,
I put another stripper decking in going towards the shed and you know
I've just changed the direction of the decking
just because basically, I wanted to make
it just do something a little bit different and not have it all running that
way
and because we've got round the corner I'm
you know, it is not quite so critical decking runs that
from top to bottom with this one plus it would be easier to build if it goes that
way because you're not gonna have to cut parts of many pieces of wood.
So that was the reason for that. And then around this side we've got another
raised rendered planter and against I've cut it off lining up
with, you'll notice that all of these lines from the seat
line, to the patio line to this border they're all
on that same horizon there and that just sort of brings continuity to the design.
An interest, you know, I could have carried that down to the bottom here
but just having that difference height in levels just creates a little
bit of added interest.
And as far as the fencing goes with this garden, the builders actually left
them with a really decent fence but for our needs to make this sort of look
uber modern, I've suggested to my clients that they put some willow
screening
against it. Now, although willow was very very traditional material
it does, for some reason, it just works really well in modern gardens.
And I think that's gonna set off that sort of darkness of the willow against
the white render of the wall is really gonna set things off and carry a
nice contrast. And I've suggested hardwood decking.
My contractor tends to use Ipe.
Well, think that's how it's pronounced. He doesn't know, neither do I. So it could be
E P
but Ipe, I. P. E. That's how it's spelled.
So anyway that's how we've been pronouncing it and nobody knows in the
builders merchants whether we've got that right or not.
Now, also we could put lots of nice light
uplighting all of the plants in here just creating interest.
And on the lower levels here used a mixed size
of cobbles. So, 20 millstones up to sort of knuckle size.
So again that would add interest and we pop it on a weed suppressant membrane
and just keeps it sort of the
maintenance levels down and then here
our client really loves Australian tree ferns so we've got a nice little
glade
and that whilst they look spectacular as an individual,
planting them in groups of 3's or 5, just they look even better,
so we put 3 nice ones in here and the new beds just capture glimpse
through them to this seating area beyond.
and you know, so not everyone loves straight lines and my clients were open to
either curves or having straight lines. They just wanted, you know,
whatever would
work best and I did have a very very quick kinda scribble
as to trying to do curves. So that would've been a curve deck or
patio, bit of lawn and then a curved seating area and some
gravel and planting. But on this occasion, I couldn't get
the depth in the garden. The curves weren't doing what I wanted.
The straight lines were actually better on this occasion, which is is very rare.
Actually, normally circles and ovals are wonderful for making smaller spaces look
larger
and one last thing, because we've got retaining walls
all the way around, it's going to be a bit of a big to most. So I just put in a single
strip
of deck just to edge the lawn. And if you weren't having deck, you know that would
could brick or something just so that it makes it a little bit more practical
from the mowing
point of view. So before we go, quick word on the render,
there's different types that you can get. Nowadays there's something called through
color render,
which has the color as it suggests in the render
so that you put it on and you never have to paint it. Now it is considerably dearer
than traditional render that you just mix up an add the color in
to but it's so much longer lasting because you never have to paint it
that I think is worth the extra cost. The only thing I'm not entirely keen on
is you do seem to have to scuff the surface off it so it ends up sort of a rough
texture render.
You don't put it on smoothly or perfectly. So if you want a really
smooth render
then you are gonna have to have one of the more traditional ones
unless they've changed the specifications since I last looked but
they're the only sort of slight things with it. So there you go
that's our modern garden. So, onto today's question,
there's a very subtle part of this design that I've not yet discussed yet
and that is, why does this back hall here,
why is that not lining up perfectly with this wall?
So why is that not coming across like that? Now when you consider how
I'm
lining things up from the door there, to the seat,
to all the way along there, why haven't
I carried that along? Now there is an important reason
and to give you a little bit of a clue, I would actually like to have this
comeback much much further
but obviously I've run out of garden so I couldn't do it. So even
though it's only a a tiny bit and that's probably only about 30 centimeters,
it was still important that did come back further than this.
So why? And today's prize
is a good one for you and I will tell you after I've told you
about the free book giveaway that's coming up so stay tuned.
Now to help you a little bit further with deck design from now until Monday,
I'm going to be giving away
the deck design book on all of the Amazons.
So, if you'd like to learn more about how to design the perfect deck to suit your
taste style
and home then download a copy of the book and I'll put a link
in shownotes beneath the video. Now the book walks you through step by step how
to choose the right type of decking
how to get it to look good and how to design a different styles of deck
that will suit your needs. Now, the book is based on the deck design mini course that I
sell here at successful garden design.
So, what I'm gonna do is, the winner of today's questions or whoever gets it
right
and I will draw a winner from the crack chances will win the expanded version
of the deck design course. And this covers
everything in more detail but it also comes with video tutorials. That will
walk you through the entire deck design process step-by-step
and we don't only cover deck. We cover, how to take the deck to work with your
existing garden.
So everything works together as a whole entity and is a good design for the
entire
garden. That it doesn't look like your deck just landed from outer space.
So the deck design course we'll show you exactly what to do.
So, all of you will be able to download the deck design book free from Amazon until
Monday
and then the winner will be able to get the expanded version with all of the video
tutorials
and the further illustrated color guide that comes with it.
So, consider the deck design book to be my Valentines gift to you.
I know, it's probably the most romantic thing anyone's ever done.
I'm sure. So do please let me know what you'd like me to cover in future
episodes of the successful garden design show
and also, do please leave me a thumbs up on YouTube and a review on iTunes.
So that I know you're definitely out there I'm not just sitting here talking to
myself.
And coming next time, we're gonna be looking at front gardens.
Now I'm going to be back in the UK and I'm gonna be armed and dangerous as I'll have
designer cam
as I wander the streets. Purely photographing gardens, I promise for no
other reason
and I'll be looking at the best gardens and also offering advice for some of the
not so good front gardens that I've come across.
So, I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.
In this episode we're gonna take a look at all the tricks to creating
hair that stays put. Come on wind. Please, just,
I need one sentence. One sentence!
Just, die down, die down. Take a break between Gus, will you?
Okay. Forgot what I was gonna say now.
And you can download your free landscaping guide
from successfulgardendesign.com/help-guide