Help! Our garden's really boring

Before

After

This client's garden was a very small square and, other than having a pretty view of the river, simply comprised of a patchy lawn, some broken paving slabs and a couple of scruffy shrubs. They wanted something "a bit different" with some shade as the garden was south facing and to make the most of the river view.

Our scheme comprised a wide wooden veranda which stretched across the entire width of the house and could be accessed straight from the French doors and the kitchen door. We planted a vine to clamber over the structure to give some summer shade. The veranda was attached to a 'mooring style' deck which jutted out at a right angle into the garden and was slighted raised and fitted with newel posts. All the woodwork was stained a soft silver/grey to create a 'weathered' look and anti-slip was painted onto the planks. Decorative gravel replaced the lawn and was planted with Mediterranean sun loving plants. A short stepping stone path led from the veranda to a feature stone circle at the end of the garden where a trelliswork fence provided privacy and screening without interrupting the view.