Suburban Seclusion, Castleford

This small planting design came about because a common problem in suburban areas. The clients’ outlook was that of neighbours homes overlooking the back garden. The brief was to provide help screen views from neighbours, add year round interest, and draw wildlife back to the garden.

The solution to the problem was to widen the borders, doubling their width. This allowed for layers of planting to be introduced beginning with three multi-stemmed Amelanchier lamarckii. The role of this versatile tree was to provide screening from neighbours whilst still allowing light into the garden due to the fineness of their leaves.

The planting design introduces much needed evergreen shrubs and perennials, giving the garden a ‘skeleton’ on which to build perennials and seasonal interest. The depth of planting, even in it’s immature phase shown below just after planting, generates visual interest and draws the eye into the garden, reducing the impact of the suburban outlook.