7 : Regent Street, Portobello, Edinburgh

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.