These clients approached me to re-design the garden of the house they had recently moved into and were in the process of remodelling. They had a young son who needed to enjoy the garden as much as it needed to meet their needs.
Middle Street
A family and entertaining garden in Brockham with garden yoga studio
The Brief
The clients wanted to build a new studio at the rear of the garden, to act as the focus for the wife’s yoga instruction business. This required quite a bit of space, which would necessitate getting rid of some huge (and sadly, poorly chosen) existing trees that were taking over the rear of the garden, but the clients also didn’t want to lose their privacy. The clients wanted a central lawn with plenty of room for children’s play, with borders and a separate children’s play area to house a trampoline and some more natural play such as a mud kitchen and a log-round obstacle course.
The Design
The yoga studio, which went through several iterations, now sits serenely at the rear of this calm and tranquil garden, softened and surrounded by plants. I designed the concepts for the studio myself, originally having an ‘L’ shaped studio with integral deck, but this was revised to a conventional rectangle. A large central lawn will allow for some children’s play nearer the house and a separate play area is subtly screened at the rear of the garden, to allow for play in the shade of the two retained hazel trees (Corylus avellana, a great English native).
A further three multi-stem trees were added to balance out the garden and provide much-needed shade. Everything can be viewed from a large rear patio which has ample room for a barbeque, dining and lounge furniture, raised above the lawn, which is framed by attractive herbaceous borders. The existing mature hawthorn hedge is largely retained, providing excellent wildlife habitat. A new side access alley makes using the garden easier, and a row of pleached trees at the rear screen the first-floor windows of a neighbouring property. The clients are delighted with the result, which has surpassed their expectations, and are already enjoying using it to its fullest.
This project was planted summer 2022 so I’m looking forward to returning in 2023 to photograph it and see how the clients are getting on.
