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 which was difficult to get past, and there was far too much paving. We decided on a contemporary design with warm-coloured...

We were approached by a commercial development company to design a landscaping scheme and install 380 sq m of new planting in a Derby business park. The project was unusual in that part of the site had already been landscaped to an unsatisfactory standard by another company; another part had been left unplanted and the remainder was still being built. Our brief was to design a scheme which was more dynamic and exciting than the usual municipal...

We were contacted by a client on a small, modern estate in Loughborough who wanted to update her dated original driveway and replace a small lawn around the front and side of the house with an interesting, decorative border. Our client was specific in that she did not want textured concrete or block paving. Following the initial consultation we decided to give the plot an individual feel, as a lot of the front gardens and drives in the estate...

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 assist the client understand the complex level changes required to create the scheme. The scheme involved a lot of soil...

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 evening. The deck area was to be constructed around an existing tree. The scheme then separated the lawn into three...