My clients live in West London in a 1930’s house. The aim was to create a driveway on the front garden, whilst maintaining as much garden as possible, whilst coping with some difficult changes in level from pavement to front door and the shared driveway with the neighbours. Their existing front garden was less than inspiring, and had once been surrounded by large conifers swathing the house in darkness. The steps to the front door were shallow and difficult to navigate with a push chair.

It was very important to the client that the garden was full of colour and interest and was a lovely welcome to their home. Beautiful resin bound gravel was used to create the parking space, giving a lovely smooth surfaces, which is fully free draining, allowing rainwater to flow back into the ground. rendered raised beds, were a reference to Spanish heritage of my client, as were the tiles used on the risers of the smooth sandstone steps cut to order.

The planting was designed to give all year round interest, with a specially nod to spring, and lots of lively yellows, oranges, blues and pinks throughout the year. I chose plants that have a English cottage style feel to them, giving a soft and colourful border surrounding the hard landscaping. The planting would also be at eye level when you drive into the garden, giving a whole different perspective of the scheme.

Low level lighting was installed in the walls surrounding the driveway, and cedar fencing topped the walls at the front door and gate to maintain a feeling of separation and privacy from the shared driveway.

The overall effect is a stylish pretty front garden with space for parking on the driveway without compromising on beauty.

Budget £15,000