Garden Design in Bexley

The Brief

This was a rear patio in Bexley, Kent. The clients wanted a space that let them spend time outside all year round, whether entertaining family and friends or relaxing on their own, so a garden that works through every season rather than just the warm months was essential. Comfort, they said, was key.

The wish list was ambitious for the space: an area of covered shade against both strong sun and rain, somewhere to recline, a firepit, a bar, a barbecue area, an outdoor sink with hot and cold running water, evening lighting and a log store for the firepit and the living room burner. They also needed to screen the neighbour’s view into a downstairs window. On style, several ideas came up, with Spanish Villa and Colonial Indian among them, and a liking for clean lines and green foliage.

The Design

I drew the different styles together into one vibrant, Moroccan-inspired scheme that gives the patio the feel of an outdoor room rather than a paved yard.

At the heart of the design is a sunken pergola with a sliding roof, so the covered seating works in both dry and wet weather. Moucharabiya screens enclose it for privacy and reinforce that Moroccan character, while festoon lighting and candle holders handle the evenings. Alongside it sits a newly built bar as well as an outdoor sink and integrated wood storage, both finished in mosaic tiles, giving the clients the entertaining space and running water they wanted.

The materials layer texture and pattern in the way the style calls for. Jungle Bliss encaustic cement tiles bring bold pattern underfoot, set against 600mm square grey limestone laid with a 200mm offset to create movement, with 100mm beige sandstone squares leading in and out of the pergola. The house was repainted to lift the whole space, with cerise walls bringing in the strong colour the clients wanted and setting off the planting.

Planting softens all of that hard landscaping and pattern. Airy Verbena bonariensis, Stipa tenuissima, Erigeron, Salvia and yellow bamboo give height, movement and an evergreen, Mediterranean feel, threaded through beds cut into the paving so the garden never reads as all stone.