Our client had recently completed a new build home in the heart of York and wanted the garden to be just as expressive and personal as the house itself. With a blank canvas outside, the brief was to create a garden they could fall in love with and use for a number of occasions.

The property blended traditional values with art-deco influences and more exuberant design touches that reflected the owner’s personality. The garden needed to echo this same spirit while remaining practical, inviting and usable throughout the year.

The brief was to create an outdoor space where the client could get lost, read, entertain, host parties and gatherings, and showcase a diverse collection of plants they had admired and collected over many years. A strong visual and functional link between the house and garden was essential.

“Choosing a garden designer that gets your style is so important, I’m glad I found Richard and the team at Astek”

Our first design proposal worked technically but didn’t go far enough to capture the personality of our client or how they truly wanted to use the garden. Through open feedback and clear communication, a second proposal was developed that fully embraced the brief and delivered a design that felt authentic and exciting

The Site & Brief

Meeting with the client as the house was being finished was important, as it gave us a chance to get a good feel for the property and ask some important questions about how the garden would reflect some aspects of the house and outbuildings. It also gave the client the opportunity to ask their build team to assist with some groundwork, and we worked closely with the team to establish a good working relationship.

The key objectives were to:

• Help specify the layout, flow and function of a bespoke water rill.
• Create a garden layout that offered multiple entertainment areas.
• Reflect the style of the house whilst inserting the client’s personality into the space
• Provide a lighting plan and electrical components to feed all relevant light, heating and pergola operation.
• Planting plans tailored to house specific plant types

Having a thorough and honest conversation with our client was very important here, even so our first design proposal wasn’t brave enough. The second explored all the ideas our client held in mind but couldn’t easily articulate. This collaborative design process was key to the success of the project

Style, impact and individuality were central to this project. The garden needed to accommodate art and sculpture while creating a sequence of spaces that felt intentional and immersive.

Working closely with our client and their build team ensured the garden was delivered smoothly and stayed true to the original vision. Design work is all about place, and people, so understanding both here was paramount.

For the design proposal, we created axis points from the main rear doors of the house. This linked up to the outbuilding doors, and we used this to our advantage. The structure of the garden came from there to radiate out and form the bones of the garden.

• A water rill struck a line from the ‘Winter Garden’ of the house and ended on a bespoke water feature. An element that grounded the garden with the architecture of the house.
• The main axis line linked both house and outbuilding to good effect and helped to add structure using CorTen moon gates.
• A sunken firepit zone added entertaining space with lighting and planting to suit.
• A fully electrical metal pergola with starlight roof, remote roof louvers and side screens and added heating provided a fully weatherproof space to relax in all seasons.
• A dining zone with Parasol London Plane trees created a secluded dining space within selected planting and lighting to suit.
• Various occasional seating spaces including a swing seat structure to provide separate space for reading and being among nature.

This wouldn’t be possible without a bespoke design layout and planting plan. Working through our clients’ thoughts with the design team is essential and where we start with any private garden project.

Having a client who is brave and adventurous and knows what they want, even when they can’t draw what they mean allows us to explore what is possible within any given space. This one was a joy to work on because we had a good working relationship with our client.