Ian Hunter - Garden Galleries

7 : REGENT ST, PORTOBELLO, EDINBURGH

BEFORE

AFTER

BRIEF / SOLUTION Brief

This garden was neglected for a long time. A family with 3 small children and one on the way. They desperately needed a space that would be child-friendly and low maintenance.
The garden was suffering from subsidence and extensive groundwork was necessary in order to level the space.
Existing planting was uninteresting and sparse.
A curved beech hedge of no aesthetic significance dominated the centre of the garden.

Solution

I decided to split the garden into two levels.
We used natural sandstone on the upper level. This served as a path around the perimeter of the house and as a sitting area, positioned to catch the best of the afternoon sun.
Broken sandstone slabs were used as a retaining wall for the two levels.
The lower level was turfed and a swing and climbing frame were added to provided a play area for the kids.
We used some excavated sandstone blocks to create a ‘fairy ring’ for the kids to explore and enjoy.

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