New-build gardens have a reputation for being charmless and dull. Early in 2012 we were commissioned to bring some charm to the garden of a new-build home in Leicester. The developers had sown grass seed and planted a couple of trees – not unusual for new-build properties, but also not very inspiring for whoever has to live...

The brief for this irregularly-shaped, three-level town garden in Ashby de la Zouch was to bring it up-to-date and open up the space. Not only was the existing layout old-fashioned but the journey through the garden was badly laid out, and felt dark and claustrophobic. A set of overpowering concrete steps led up to an area...

Terraced, sloping garden in Ashbourne. Our brief for this steeply sloping garden was to tame the 1.8m drop in order to create a family garden which allowed for seating, lawn and plenty of planting space. From the start we worked very closely with the clients, and after agreeing the layout plans we produced 3d drawings to...

After discussion with the client, we added vegetable beds, a summer house and a rear gate to the brief, and it was also requested we remove the hot tub which was built into the existing deck. The scheme we proposed involved building a completely new deck and summer house at the rear of the garden, which was a sun-trap in the...