Yard of the Week: Flowing Garden Beds and an Entertaining Space
An English landscape with lush plantings and a standout shipping container bar invites guests to meander and gather
When designer Simon Orchard first visited this tricky-shaped Hampshire yard, it was badly overgrown and — despite being large — felt smaller than its size. “It was scrappy and not particularly well laid out,” Orchard says, describing how dense foliage in the wide, shallow strip at the back of the house encroached on the space.
In addition to a new layout and plantings, the owners asked for an entertaining space that would appeal to adults as well as the couple’s teenage children. They also wanted a covered bar, and the husband hoped to install a hot tub.
The result is a cohesive planting scheme that connects with the landscape beyond and an entertaining area that cleverly blends with the aesthetic of the garden as a whole.
In addition to a new layout and plantings, the owners asked for an entertaining space that would appeal to adults as well as the couple’s teenage children. They also wanted a covered bar, and the husband hoped to install a hot tub.
The result is a cohesive planting scheme that connects with the landscape beyond and an entertaining area that cleverly blends with the aesthetic of the garden as a whole.
Before: This wide, shallow lawn behind the house is the yard’s most accessed and visible part and is one of two areas Orchard focused his redesign on.
Before: In this “before” photo taken from the other end of the back area, you can see how solid and tall the planting along the boundary was. “It felt as if the shrubs were coming down on you and making the space feel a lot smaller,” Orchard says.
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After: Orchard’s work transformed the view and sense of space. By reducing the planting’s density as well as its height, he’s opened up this part of the yard, giving it a lighter feel and lots of interest.
Planting highlights include the yellow ‘Moonshine’ yarrow (Achillea ‘Moonshine’, USDA zones 3 to 9; find your zone), sea thrift (Armeria maritima, zones 4 to 8) and lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina, zones 4 to 9), with its silvery-green foliage.
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Planting highlights include the yellow ‘Moonshine’ yarrow (Achillea ‘Moonshine’, USDA zones 3 to 9; find your zone), sea thrift (Armeria maritima, zones 4 to 8) and lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina, zones 4 to 9), with its silvery-green foliage.
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Take a few steps back and a lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis, zones 3 to 8), with its scalloped leaves and frothy, acid green flowers, and a ‘Royal Purple’ smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, zones 4 to 8) come into view in the foreground.
The new beds on this side of the lawn are curved. “Because it’s such a long border, this works better at breaking up the space,” Orchard says.
The new beds on this side of the lawn are curved. “Because it’s such a long border, this works better at breaking up the space,” Orchard says.
In addition to the curved main border, Orchard incorporated three circular beds in the lawn. One can be seen here, filled with ‘Heavy Metal’ switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’, zones 4 to 9) and tall purple verbena (Verbena bonariensis, zones 7 to 11). When looking at the plan (scroll down), this bed is the one at the top right of the drawing.
Here’s another of the circular beds, planted with ornamental grasses that will eventually reach head height. “When these photos were taken, it was very early doors for this garden,” Orchard says. “It’s in its first season.”
Orchard brought the planting right up to the house, with semi-evergreen New Zealand wind grass (Anemanthele lessoniana, zones 8 to 10) creating a soft border on one side of a new limestone gravel path.
“I put this in so it wasn’t just one giant border,” Orchard says. “It gives you the opportunity to get immersed in the planting as you walk along it; you pass lavender and can run a hand through the grass. It makes it a bit more of an immersive experience.”
The terrace that runs around the house is original, but Orchard created the two steps down to allow easier access from the bifold doors (out of shot).
“I put this in so it wasn’t just one giant border,” Orchard says. “It gives you the opportunity to get immersed in the planting as you walk along it; you pass lavender and can run a hand through the grass. It makes it a bit more of an immersive experience.”
The terrace that runs around the house is original, but Orchard created the two steps down to allow easier access from the bifold doors (out of shot).
The site plan, with the house in the middle and driveway at the bottom, makes sense of this wraparound space.
What you’ve just been looking at is the area at the top of this drawing, which runs along the back of the house. The area on the right, where the lawn continues around the corner to the front of the house, doesn’t feature in this set of pictures, but continues the theme set by the new backyard above.
To the left of the house is the other renovated zone. Previously, the area was just a swathe of block paving that the owners barely used; now it’s become a terrace for entertaining that steps down to a deck containing the hot tub.
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What you’ve just been looking at is the area at the top of this drawing, which runs along the back of the house. The area on the right, where the lawn continues around the corner to the front of the house, doesn’t feature in this set of pictures, but continues the theme set by the new backyard above.
To the left of the house is the other renovated zone. Previously, the area was just a swathe of block paving that the owners barely used; now it’s become a terrace for entertaining that steps down to a deck containing the hot tub.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Next to the terrace is a newly reconfigured area for a hot tub. An olive tree sits on its corner in a giant Cor-Ten steel planter.
From here you can see what a difference the lighter boundary planting has made. “The location is fairly rural and there’s lots of open space around. The house is on a ridge that looks down to Portsmouth,” Orchard says. It’s this borrowed landscape that helps the landscape feel larger, as it claims the trees, greenery and sky beyond.
From here you can see what a difference the lighter boundary planting has made. “The location is fairly rural and there’s lots of open space around. The house is on a ridge that looks down to Portsmouth,” Orchard says. It’s this borrowed landscape that helps the landscape feel larger, as it claims the trees, greenery and sky beyond.
Orchard created a decorative pergola, painted in anthracite gray and complete with festoon lighting, to frame the semi-sunken hot tub.
Decking: DesignBoard; tile paving: Florence Grey Porcelain paving, all London Stone
Decking: DesignBoard; tile paving: Florence Grey Porcelain paving, all London Stone
Before: This is how the spot looked before the redesign.
After: The hot tub deck steps up to a new entertainment zone, created on what had been an unused area of block paving on the left side of the house. Orchard retained the original paving.
“In the brief, the couple said they wanted an outdoor covered bar and I proposed we crane in a shipping container and convert it,” Orchard says. “You see quite a lot of these as retail units, bars and restaurants, but I’d never seen one in a garden. I felt it would be a bit of a showstopper — and it has real wow factor.”
Orchard gave his clients the idea and they organized the container themselves and worked with a carpenter to convert it. It’s painted anthracite gray to tie in with the fences and pergola.
The bar has a wildflower roof that not only looks great from the house, but also provides some insulation in winter and helps to cool the container in summer.
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Orchard gave his clients the idea and they organized the container themselves and worked with a carpenter to convert it. It’s painted anthracite gray to tie in with the fences and pergola.
The bar has a wildflower roof that not only looks great from the house, but also provides some insulation in winter and helps to cool the container in summer.
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The views across the yard from the bar are lovely. In the foreground, you can see ‘Rozanne’ cranesbill (Geranium ‘Rozanne’, zones 4 to 9), with English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’, zones 5 to 9) beyond.
Reclaimed floorboards clad the interior and some of the exterior.
An aerial view shows how the two new zones connect. Painted, rendered block wall raised beds flank the steps.
At the far end of the bar, an evergreen hedge screens the driveway. Giant freestanding planters frame the structure — the one seen here in the foreground contains a hydrangea.
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At the far end of the bar, an evergreen hedge screens the driveway. Giant freestanding planters frame the structure — the one seen here in the foreground contains a hydrangea.
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Who lives here: A couple with older children
Location: Hampshire, England
Size: About 148 feet (45 meters) by 164 feet (50 meters) at the longest and widest points (The U-shaped yard wraps around the house)
Landscape designer: Simon Orchard Garden Design