School Cottage
his traditional family garden based in Hertfordshire won Aralia Garden Design the BALI Landscape Design Excellence award in 2009.
A young professional, sociable family strong on traditional values was the key influence in Aralia’s romantic garden design for this Hertfordshire home. With the side and rear garden to landscape, Aralia used new oak, reclaimed rustic bricks and natural slate paving stones to remodel into separate garden rooms, each with its own function and personality. Reclaimed brick pillars with climbers make the play lawn a lovely area – children are within sight at all times and the pergola provides shade in the summer months, in addition to a whimsical living willow arbour in the shape of an igloo. Being a parent has enabled Patricia and her Aralia landscape design team to understand the positive impact that good garden design can have on family life!
A large, flat terrace became a split-level space – the lower terrace linking the extension and lounge and an upper terrace with slate paving. Here 8 – 10 people can dine in relative privacy and higher maintenance planting was recommended with texture, shape, colour and fragrance of prime importance. The Kitchen Garden is made up of 4 raised beds, edged with distressed new oak sleepers. Vegetables, herbs and a greenhouse are encapsulated within one area with borders of well behaved shrubs and grasses, lavender and topiary balls elsewhere.
Aralia provided a full Landscape Design & Build service, working with a multi-functional team of sub-contractors.