Yard of the Week: Small Leafy Haven With Year-Round Appeal
Strategic lighting and sculptural evergreens give a London yard four-season interest that can be enjoyed indoors and out
Outdoor spaces aren’t always appealing year-round, so when the owners of this property in London asked for exactly that, designer Diana Bejanaru of Imago Gardens Design and Landscaping had her work cut out.
What she’s created is a lush backyard haven that stays leafy throughout the colder months — with sculptural plants that look beautiful tipped with frost or dusted with snow — and offers visual interest thanks to strong linear structures. And on dark evenings? Cleverly placed, layered lighting creates a magical view from inside.
What she’s created is a lush backyard haven that stays leafy throughout the colder months — with sculptural plants that look beautiful tipped with frost or dusted with snow — and offers visual interest thanks to strong linear structures. And on dark evenings? Cleverly placed, layered lighting creates a magical view from inside.
Before: The original yard was essentially a blank canvas. The couple wanted it to be more structured and have more depth, and they liked the idea of different levels.
“[The owner] had seen floating steps in a design and really loved them, but she had a completely flat garden, so I said, ‘OK, we are going to think about how to do it,’” Bejanaru says.
“[The owner] had seen floating steps in a design and really loved them, but she had a completely flat garden, so I said, ‘OK, we are going to think about how to do it,’” Bejanaru says.
After: The large floating concrete steps Bejanaru designed proved an excellent way to create distinct pockets and add interest by mimicking different levels. “Even though the [yard] is completely flat, you go up and then you step down again,” she says. “It creates different areas.”
Two long steps are set parallel to each other, with a third balanced across the two, creating three levels. It’s resulted in three distinct planting beds and a seating area under a new steel pergola.
“I wanted to create another seating area so it invites you to explore more of the [yard] and you have different areas where you can spend time,” Bejanaru says.
The owners have since moved their vintage Willy Guhl Loop chair and positioned a dining table in this secluded nook.
“I wanted to create another seating area so it invites you to explore more of the [yard] and you have different areas where you can spend time,” Bejanaru says.
The owners have since moved their vintage Willy Guhl Loop chair and positioned a dining table in this secluded nook.
The shed was already there — Bejanaru simply refreshed the black paint on this and the fences. She then added three black posts to the left of the doors to echo the pergola and create more texture.
“It’s not common practice to make a shed a focal point, but it really gives a lot of interest,” she says.
“It’s not common practice to make a shed a focal point, but it really gives a lot of interest,” she says.
This photo from inside the living area gives a sense of just how much Bejanaru added to the yard, from the layers of greenery to the floating steps, to create a space that can be enjoyed year-round.
You can also see one of the ways she gave the small space depth, with the eye going from the black patio door frames to the steel pergola to the black wood posts attached to the shed.
Bejanaru also planted four new trees, placing the two tallest nearer to the house and the two shorter ones at the back. “The plants in front draw the eye upward, then the shorter ones — visually below the other two — draw your eye to the back of the [yard], so you have several focal points,” she says.
The new trees consist of two Tasmanian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica, USDA zones 9 to 10; find your zone) — one on the front left and the other at the back right; a tall windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei, zones 7 to 11) and a pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10) in front of the shed.
The huge olive tree was already there. “We kept it, of course, because it’s beautiful and I also love the color of the bark, which stands out,” Bejanaru says.
9 Design Tips to Enhance Views of Your Garden From Indoors
You can also see one of the ways she gave the small space depth, with the eye going from the black patio door frames to the steel pergola to the black wood posts attached to the shed.
Bejanaru also planted four new trees, placing the two tallest nearer to the house and the two shorter ones at the back. “The plants in front draw the eye upward, then the shorter ones — visually below the other two — draw your eye to the back of the [yard], so you have several focal points,” she says.
The new trees consist of two Tasmanian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica, USDA zones 9 to 10; find your zone) — one on the front left and the other at the back right; a tall windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei, zones 7 to 11) and a pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10) in front of the shed.
The huge olive tree was already there. “We kept it, of course, because it’s beautiful and I also love the color of the bark, which stands out,” Bejanaru says.
9 Design Tips to Enhance Views of Your Garden From Indoors
The four new trees and the olive, as well as most of the smaller plants, are all evergreen, ensuring the yard doesn’t look bleak in the winter months.
Other evergreen plants include the sago palm (Cycas revoluta, zones 9 to 11) between the path and pergola; several male ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas, zones 4 to 8); Japanese mock orange (Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’, zones 9 to 10), to the right of the pergola and also in the tall planters (see later photos), and rock polypody (Polypodium vulgare, zones 3 to 8) in the foreground.
“The [yard] faces south, but because of the buildings and big trees around it, it’s pretty shady, so we could use the ferns and shade-loving plants,” Bejanaru says.
In addition, there’s “borrowed landscape” in the form of a huge willow tree and the fig tree tumbling over the back right corner.
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Other evergreen plants include the sago palm (Cycas revoluta, zones 9 to 11) between the path and pergola; several male ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas, zones 4 to 8); Japanese mock orange (Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’, zones 9 to 10), to the right of the pergola and also in the tall planters (see later photos), and rock polypody (Polypodium vulgare, zones 3 to 8) in the foreground.
“The [yard] faces south, but because of the buildings and big trees around it, it’s pretty shady, so we could use the ferns and shade-loving plants,” Bejanaru says.
In addition, there’s “borrowed landscape” in the form of a huge willow tree and the fig tree tumbling over the back right corner.
See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software
Good lighting was a must for the owners, and Bejanaru cleverly layered fixtures to create an enchanting space after dark.
Spotlights pick out the trees; pendant lights define the seating area; mushroom spike lights illuminate the path and lower foliage; an adjustable downlight highlights the shorter tree fern from above; and existing bulkhead-style wall lights flanking the patio doors bathe the whole space in a gentle glow.
The patio is a mix of existing microcement — a decorative coating made from cement, resins and pigments — on one side and clay pavers, which replaced wood decking, on the other. “There’s microcement in the house, so [the owners] wanted to retain this area outside,” Bejanaru says.
The staggered shape was already there, as the decking formed a jagged line and Bejanaru kept the design. “We cleaned the cement and laid black clay pavers instead of the decking,” she says.
What to Know About Adding Outdoor Lighting
Spotlights pick out the trees; pendant lights define the seating area; mushroom spike lights illuminate the path and lower foliage; an adjustable downlight highlights the shorter tree fern from above; and existing bulkhead-style wall lights flanking the patio doors bathe the whole space in a gentle glow.
The patio is a mix of existing microcement — a decorative coating made from cement, resins and pigments — on one side and clay pavers, which replaced wood decking, on the other. “There’s microcement in the house, so [the owners] wanted to retain this area outside,” Bejanaru says.
The staggered shape was already there, as the decking formed a jagged line and Bejanaru kept the design. “We cleaned the cement and laid black clay pavers instead of the decking,” she says.
What to Know About Adding Outdoor Lighting
Before: Here, you can see the jagged line between the microcement and the decking boards, which were replaced with clay pavers.
The photo also gives a glimpse of the open floor plan of the living area and kitchen. The back door is on the side wall and the oriel window is a spot where the owners love to sit and read, so the view from there was important.
The photo also gives a glimpse of the open floor plan of the living area and kitchen. The back door is on the side wall and the oriel window is a spot where the owners love to sit and read, so the view from there was important.
After: Bejanaru echoed the patio materials in the seating area. Two stripes of clay pavers and concrete-look porcelain tiles, which are more durable than microcement, sit neatly next to the concrete step, visually linking both ends of the yard.
The back of the yard is a more secluded area. Slate chips keep weeds down, but they’re also a design detail, being the same color as the paved areas but introducing more texture.
“Instead of having the soil, we thought the plants would look better and it would tie everything together,” Bejanaru says.
“Instead of having the soil, we thought the plants would look better and it would tie everything together,” Bejanaru says.
The owner already had the large pots and Bejanaru wanted to reuse them and bring the plants up to the house. “They make an interesting feature, as they’re all the same color but not the same height,” she says.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Not surprisingly, the owners love their new yard. It seems as if trusting their designer and giving her free rein very much paid off. “Our styles are pretty similar,” Bejanaru says. “If I had a [yard] this size, this is exactly what I would design.”
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Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: North London
Size: 590 square feet (54.8 square meters)
Landscape designer: Diana Bejanaru of Imago Gardens Design and Landscaping
The owners wanted a space where they could spend time, read and relax after work. They loved the idea of evergreen plantings so they could still enjoy an appealing view from indoors throughout winter.
“Their house has a lot of personality so we tried to carry that out into the” yard,” says designer Diana Bejanaru. The client loves black, “which is why we tried to use it as much as possible.”
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