

Berni (Mary) got in touch with me, she felt her garden has lost its ‘zing’ and needed overhauling. She also had a big problem with a slight slop that that meant the bottom of the garden became a pond which didn’t help the garden become the relaxing and welcoming space she wanted in her home.
We sat at the table that still rests on her patio, enjoying the sunshine and discussed what we might do to redress the balance. As ever I made notes regarding all our ideas and suggestions. Once these were agreed, I set a date and began to design a space that meet the agreed criteria and would work with the gardens difficulties and issues. It made sense to me that, as the sunniest spot was at the end of the garden as well as being the location for an undesirable ‘pond’, that we should put the pergola there and combine it with the pond. The pergola could contain within it the upper section and give the perfect support for an upper ‘ornamental’ pond allowing a waterfall to look and sound amazing.
The slope could be addressed by installing a shallow terracing which could lead to clearly defined flower beds. The walls and flower beds could be made of brick, emphasizing the clean lines. I felt a hexagon would provide a good base for all elements within the design and worked very well with the shape of the garden. This also allowed the small trees to be left in the ground as they have their own little ‘walls’ to keep the division between trunk and root to stay as it was. Check the video for that one.
The pond are also had a direct bearing on the shape of the pergola as it affected how it was supported on one side. Take a look, the left is not a mirror image of the right!
The path leading from the patio would become a lovely lavender walkway and the planting would have a feature element, commanding its own position within the beds, making the informal slightly formal.
Once the design was approved and signed of a date was set for beginning the landscaping which began before Christmas 2021 and continued into the New Year.
Berni had quite a large selection of plants already so we had a further meeting when the landscape was concluded to see what had survived the build and which pots would go where.
I think the garden looks stunning, as did Berni. Check the review below.
Let me know what you think.
We got a pretty cool testimonial on Google too.
Mary Cook
Positive: Professionalism, Responsiveness
From the first time we met up with Simon to discuss our plans for our garden project last year we felt that we were in safe hands. We discussed our requirements and were delighted with the design Simon came up with.
Simon introduced us to the Vu landscaping team and our plans began to become a reality. The Vu team worked extremely hard over the winter resulting in our beautiful garden with a bespoke sapele pergola over a wildlife pond. We are now awaiting the last few snagging bits to be sorted.
But generally we couldn’t be happier with how our garden has turned out. We would not hesitate to recommend Simon and the Vu team.


