Eastbourne town garden

This garden was a pretty straightforward project, but a trickier build. Although they were a good mile and a half from the coast the clients wanted a seaside feel with a nod to Derek Jarman’s iconic garden at Dungeness. As I’d already designed several beach-inspired gardens, the layout and planting were quite familiar. However, the location was at the back of the house, beyond a wooden terrace and down a flight of steps. So all the materials, in and out, had to be raised or lowered, requiring more effort than usual for such a relatively small space. In preparation an area of decking had to be lifted and the uneven turf weed-killed and levelled before the build could commence.

The design followed my tried and trusted format of laying a weed-proof membrane followed by a good depth of shingle. Three raised beds, two small planters and a bench were constructed from oak which is hard-wearing and silvers down to a mellow finish with time. As part of the garden has little direct sunlight for much of the day it was planted with shade-tolerant grasses and perennials, chosen to blend with the sun-lovers planted elsewhere.