Front garden in Wandsworth

Front gardens work hard. They need to welcome you home, look good from the street and deal with the practical side of daily life. This Wandsworth project had to do all three.

Before we started, the garden was dominated by a cracked concrete path, a patch of lawn and overgrown shrubs. It was tired and didn’t make the most of the house’s handsome red brick and green front door.

We replaced the old path with a gently curved route in sawn sandstone, leading from the street to the front door. The soft curve slows the approach and gives the planting room to breathe. Stepping stones cross the borders, and a new sandstone step finishes the entrance.

At the street, a new timber gate hangs between chunky oak gate posts set into the existing brick wall and fence. It gives the house a warm, characterful entrance.

A secure store now sits on its own sandstone base, tucked against the side boundary. It gives the clients somewhere safe to keep their belongings, and its dark green finish picks up the colour of the front door so it blends in rather than dominating the garden.

The borders are filled with a soft mix of verbena, salvia, echinacea, sedum and ornamental grasses. They bring colour from summer into autumn and are a great draw for pollinators.

The result is a front garden that looks good, works hard and gives a warm welcome from the street.