This small enclosed central London garden was designed to be an oasis of calm. Inspired by the client’s love of Japanese culture we created a tsubo-niwa or Japanese Courtyard Garden, in the style of niho teien, a stylized and highly abstracted miniature landscape.

Dwarf Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis), Day Lilies and ground cover pines were introduced at the sunny rear of the house while specimen maples were planted to provide autumn color in the shady far corner of the garden. Here gravel, mosses and feature stones were grouped to provide a display space for the client’s growing bonsai collection.

Ivy that had been allowed to run free was heavily trimmed to reveal the hairy branches which   become a key feature of the white washed walls which defined the gardens’ boundaries. Rather than repair the superficial cracks in the wall we decided to enhance these with hand cleaning and the addition of Japanese ferns.

The client was thrilled by the whole experience of seeing the garden evolve, enjoying our attention to detail and the quiet transformation of this inner city garden into a calm and tranquil haven.

Location
Kensington, UK