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Are you looking for inspiration and tips to shape your garden into your vision? Then you should check out Noscoe Garden Design’s feature in the first instalment of Sonnaz Nooranvary’s new series in the June 2024 edition of the Dorset Magazine. Interior designer and upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary looks at creating stylish and functional outdoor living spaces with the help of three Dorset experts, Jenny Noscoe included.

This article showcases our stunning “Water Feature Garden” in Broadstone. Originally a split-level space, the design masterfully reimagines it into an adult oasis, perfect for relaxation, socialising, and connecting with nature. For those of you who haven’t grabbed a copy yet, the article dives into the transformation of this split-level garden into a haven for relaxation and nature connection. It showcases how we maximised the existing landscape to create unique areas and incorporated features like a cascading waterfall and a firepit area

Being included in such a well-respected local publication is a testament to the hard work that the team at Noscoe Garden Design have put in over the years.

Why you should read the full article in Dorset Magazine:

  • Learn valuable tips from Jenny Noscoe on creating a garden that is both beautiful and functional.
  • Get ideas for incorporating water features, terracing, and designated zones into your outdoor space.
  • Immerse yourself in stunning visuals that showcase the transformed garden’s beauty.

Ready to take your garden to the next level?

Don’t miss Sonnaz Nooranvary’s insightful column and Jenny Noscoe’s inspiring garden design in Dorset Magazine. Get your copy today and unlock the full potential of your outdoor haven!

Click here to see read the article on the Dorset Magazine website. Contact us now 07834 233 343, we can assist you with your garden design, jenny@noscoegardendesign.com

Our Top 5 Recommendations to Improve your Small Garden’s Design

Every project is different when designing a garden. Starting a design project for a small garden can be an exciting journey. Just because the space is limited, it doesn’t mean it can’t be impactful. Here are some helpful tips to guide you on where to begin:

Step 1. Identify the space

Start by understanding the unique features of your garden space. Take note of boundaries, existing structures, and any standout elements that can influence your design. Embrace these characteristics and let them influence your design decisions. Work with the site conditions, not against them.

Step 2. Improve the boundaries

Focus on maximising the potential of your boundaries. If there is a lovely old wall, enhance it. Utilise vertical surfaces for planting climbers such as Trachelospermum jasminoides on a sunny wall or fence for the beautiful scent.  Wall shrubs, and training fruit as a fan or espalier form. This not only adds greenery and maximises your growing space, but also creates a sense of enclosure and depth in your small garden design, view our previous designs here.

Consider incorporating architectural elements like timber panels or water features to enhance the boundary’s visual appeal and create focal points within the space. Painting rendered walls or timber fences can drastically alter the ambience of the space. White render can be quite cold, painting with warmer colour tones can help to bring warmth on a cold, dank winters day. Be bold with your colour choices. Staining a fence or timber panel black makes the boundary recede, resulting in the illusion that the space is bigger. Black or dark blues and greys are a fantastic contrast for foliage making plants pop against a fence

Step 3. Create layers and depth

Create depth and visual interest in your garden by incorporating layers of planting. Choose plants that flower at different times of the year to ensure year-round interest. Use a variety of heights within the planting, to include small trees and shrubs,  taller or mid-height perennials with ground covering species for a rich tapestry of colours and textures. Keep the plant selection simple to avoid overcrowding in a small space. Use repetition within the planting to create cohesion.

Step 4. Consider privacy 

Address privacy concerns by strategically placing tall plants, small trees, or trellises to create screening. This helps block unwanted views and enhances the feeling of seclusion in your garden. Consider using narrow plants like bamboos or clump-forming varieties for effective screening in a small space. See my previous blog on tree planting.

Step 5. Surfacing and Courtyard

Create a well-balanced design by incorporating a mix of planting and hardscaping elements. Consider using small paving units like bricks or setts to make the space feel larger. Aim for a courtyard design with a central entertaining area surrounded by well-planned boundaries with visual interest. Maintain a good balance between planting and hardscaping elements, aiming for at least 40% planting in the overall design. Where planting borders are positioned be bad, avoid narrow awkward planting areas, which are difficult to create a well balanced and structured parting scheme.

By starting with these design principles, you can lay a strong foundation for creating a beautiful and functional small garden. Remember to embrace the unique character of your space, maximise boundaries, layer your planting, address privacy concerns, and choose sustainable surfacing materials. Enjoy the process of transforming your small garden into a peaceful sanctuary where every element plays a vital role in the overall design. If you are interested in our design services don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Click here to see more images on the website. Contact us now 07834 233 343, we can assist you with your garden design, jenny@noscoegardendesign.com

The Structural Importance of Trees in Garden Design 

Don’t be afraid of planting a tree in a small garden. Well positioned trees for small gardens can add enormous value to the space. They provide structural permanence, acting as pillars of the garden or the bones around which, the softer, fluffy, colourful floral display can express itself.

Trees add extra layers to the space. We have a tendency to look down, but trees encourage you to look up. Much like a mini rainforest they provide the canopy layer, creating mini-micro climates beneath and therefore more variation and opportunities for diverse planting and habitat creation.

Providing Shade, Shelter, and Environmental Benefits

When visiting a small garden for the first time, often my eye is immediately drawn to the boundaries. This is particularly the case when it is a new build garden, with a token patio and a patch of turf that has been laid over compacted ground. The space lacks life. A well-positioned tree can draw your eye away from the boundaries of the garden, and link to the wider landscape, which helps to make the space feel bigger, learn more about our approach to planting design.

Trees provide valuable shade and shelter. They have a cooling effect which is incredibly important for our increasingly dry summers. They help to absorb water run-off during our wet winters and create valuable stability to our precious soil. Trees filter and absorb wind and sound, rather than creating eddies, which is when the wind encounters a solid object such as a fence. Fences are abundant in small gardens on new build estates.

Selecting Tree Varieties for Enhanced Planting Design

Trees come in many different shapes and sizes. Before choosing your tree consider the weight of the tree canopy, whether it will provide dense shade or screening, dappled shade or bold dramatic foliage, which can be particularly effective in a small space.

Trees can add interest at different times of the year. Spring blossom of Crab apples and Amelanchier paired with the fruits and leaf colour in the Autumn are wonderful. Bold leaves of Cercis canadensis (pictured in top image) and Acer palmatum, both pictured below, can add drama to a small space.

Acer palmatum

Multi stemmed trees can provide beautiful winter structure with interesting bark such as the copper tones of Prunus serrula and Acer griseum and the smooth bark of Amelanchier, which looks wonderful when illuminated. Cornus kousa species (Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ pictured) add beautiful colour from their flower bracts and fruits.

 

Cornuskousa

Cornuskousa

Feathered trees give a columnar effect, with branches breaking from the base upwards. These are ideal if you want to create a pillar effect with the planting. Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) are useful for this.

A standard (clear stem) tree allows you to walk underneath the canopy and provides screening higher up, useful for screening neighbouring windows.

A pleached or espalier specimen is essentially an aerial hedge on a clear stem which is useful for screening in a small space. Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) is commonly used, Malus (crab apple) and Pyrus (ornamental Pear) species are deciduous but add the benefits of a spring floral display and autumn leaf colour and fruits.

A parasol trained tree, (Liquidambar pictured), is similar to a pleached tree but is trained to grow as a roof, providing shade over a seating area. It is effective where space is tight but requires some skilled pruning and training.

Liquidambar

Liquidambar

Selecting Tree Varieties for Enhanced Planting Design

There are site specific considerations which need to be made, which will impact on how the tree will thrive. Assess the conditions first. Exposure to wind/salt laden air, soil ph. & structure i.e. clay, sand, chalk, loam are important factors. Look in neighbouring gardens to see what thrives there or contact us for a garden consultation and advice. Adding water features to a garden is also a brilliant way to improve garden biodiversity, you can learn more here.

As we know, trees are life. They produce the oxygen we need to breathe, filtering the air. They provide nesting opportunities, food sources for humans and our wildlife friends. Too often trees are removed, mostly because we have built too close to them, or the wrong tree has been planted in the first place. With careful consideration we can add more trees to benefit us and our wider environment.