Introducing a multifunctioning garden

Introducing a Multifunctioning Garden

Now we're going to move on to another case study garden, a pub garden in Sussex, to look at how to create interest and journey in a small space.

The Bell pub garden comprises a series of small garden areas. I needed to give each of these a sense of purpose and destination.

Creating Interest in a Small Garden

This garden has lots of ideas for where to create points of interest and create a journey around the garden despite being a small space, which is key. It's also got:

• different levels planting and different heights – important to create interest
• you don't see everything at once, so you have surprises as you go round a corner
• an atmosphere
• trees borrowed from the landscape beyond that inspired the garden.

A Garden Full of Ideas

We will look at the whole process, from the beginnings of an idea to laying out the garden design, with lots of ideas within the garden, and how we can apply those ideas and processes at home.

Design Led by Function

The design was based around its function as a pub garden – spaces for groups of people. It's a series of private gardens to create places to sit, eat and talk, with a route that connects all these spaces.

• Journey and route is key. Wherever you have a spot with a function – e.g. seat, terrace, lawn, play space – you need a route to connect them.
• It doesn't need to be a definite path, but it needs to allow and encourage you to get from A to B to C.
• The layout of this garden creates a flow around it with points of interest and paths that lead off those to other areas.
• The use of each space is also key, such as seating, a terrace to hold the seating, and their size. Think about how many people you want to accommodate.