Garden Design - Creating Private Spaces & Garden Rooms

Many gardens these days are small and overlooked from all sides.  Trying to create a private space to sit and enjoy the garden can be hard.  In larger gardens creating smaller, intimate spaces that feel peaceful and secluded can also present challenges.

The answer is to enclose the space in some way.  In a larger garden you can create the spaces as separate garden rooms surrounded by physical structures such as walls and wooden screens, or high planting.  In a smaller garden you can also define the space as separate and use planting and structures to enclose it wholly or partly depending on the shape of the garden.

This Windsor courtyard is enclosed by rendered, blockwork walls and a pergola to create a secluded space for entertaining.

Garden Design Berkshire

A tall, neatly clipped Hornbeam hedge in this half-acre Surrey garden defines and encloses a seating area for catching the evening sun.  This helps to break up a long, narrow garden giving it width and interest. Hedges are a cheap and natural way of creating divisions in a garden. 

Garden Design Surrey

A pergola set on top of the retaining walls in this Bracknell, Berkshire garden prevents overlooking, and encloses the dining area making it seem intimate and private.

Garden Design Berkshire

The stone-faced wall with reflective alcoves in this Kenley, Surrey garden creates a sense of privacy in the main entertaining area in this large garden.  It provides a smaller, defined space for eating and entertaining.  

Garden Design Surrey

This Bracknell, Berkshire garden has a sunken seating with a pergola that creates a lovely private place for enjoying the last of the day's sunshine. The garden is heavily overlooked, so some extra privacy was provided by adding some pleached trees to boundary.

Garden Design Berkshire

When using built structures in the garden remember that the maximum permitted height for a garden wall without requiring planning permission is 1.8m and the maximum permitted finished height for other garden structures such as pergolas is 2.4m.   

I can design gardens anywhere but most of my work is in Berkshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and London.  

If you would like help with designing your garden, please visit my Website and Facebook page for more ideas and garden inspiration and contact details.