What's pop-singer Rihanna got to do with garden design?

Pop-singer Rihanna sings Umbrella, Photocredit: DanielSuarez

Well, nothing really, as far as I know, but in the summer of 2007, as we applied the caption "relax, enjoy and soak up the sun’ to the design for a small front garden in Wicklow town, her hit-song called 'Umbrella' ushered in the first of a series of wet summers that have all but killed-off the idea (in Ireland) that a garden can be used for those traditional summer-time recreational activities of eating, sitting- out and sun-bathing.

Still, our somewhat optimistic garden design, weather-wise, has gone on to not only be a highly successful installation for our clients (even when its raining), but also, in November 2009, it received an Award of merit from the Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland (ALCI) for gardens in the under €13,000 category: the overall design and, in particular, the curved stone wall being a hit with the ALCI judges.

THE BRIEF

What we found challenging about the brief for this garden design was the level of detail required and also that it  all had to be packed into such a small space totaling 96m2, 43m2 of which was given over to car parking.  We also had to contend with quite a steep slope from the front door to street level.

The house itself is an understated beige-brick construction at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac and was constructed in the early "noughties."  The existing garden, which faces northwest, had a lawn with some groups of shrubs, but otherwise, little else to commend it.

The garden brief included, amongst other things:

• greater pedestrian access to the house
• removal of concrete pathway and substitute with a more natural material
• creation of a partial visual divide between the garden and the street
• creation of a relatively private sitting-out area to the front to catch the evening sun
• and the kids requested the retention of some lawn to allow for a kick-a-bout area

The planting design was left to ourselves with the level of maintenance on the low to medium side.

DESIGN RESPONSE

The design that we came up with deals head-on with the functional requirements of the brief.  The clients were particularly pleased with the serpentine wall which is made from Donegal quartz, a colour that matches beautifully  with that of the existing  beige bricks of the house, has a maximum height of 600mm and can act as a kick-wall, and also serves to provide a psychological divide with the street.  Furthermore, it gives a sense of mystery and intrigue to the garden user, even in such a small space.

We completed the patio area in a light natural-stone finish.  There are curved gravel paths through the garden for the wet months and the lawn can be used in the summer.

The planting, along with a Laurus nobilis hedge around the boundary, includes shrubs like Deutzia x elegantissima 'Rosealind' and perennials suited to open sunny conditions and partial shade, such as Heuchera micrantha ‘Green Ivory’ and Bergenia 'Morgenröte', stalwarts, such as Libertia formosa and Helleborus foetidus and specimens, such as Hemerocallis ‘Golden Chimes'.

The design, we hope, plays havoc with the concept that not much can be achieved in a small space or indeed in the bland front-garden spaces provided by many developers in our estate houses  up and down the country.  And, I am pleased to say, that the garden can also be used in the wet weather eh, eh, eh, as Rihanna would say♪

Adapted from my original article published in the GLDA's Compass Magazine, Issue 52, Spring 2010

And put your pop ears on for Rihanna's video for Umbrella, which features great production design...