This is a small courtyard in Newquay, before it was very overgrown and unloved. The client wanted a bespoke playhouse for her grandchildren, a small water feature and sitting area. The central access path had to remain. The client has a very floral front garden with a number of quirky features.

The client collects and stores items found at the beach so we designed a false wall storage unit for her to store items in and to disguise the water butt (wanted to collect water for flushing the toilet) and soil vent pipe. This was made with a sliding door to allow space for a bistro seating area in the sun.

The garden was made to look larger with the use of a mirror across one of the walls and this was softened with planting.

The neighbours have very high walls on both sides. Columnar plants were added to the planting to soften this and we designed and made a false mirrored window with shutters to add interest and for the grandchildren to be able to play with (opening and closing the shutters).

All the planting was through a weed suppressant membrane with a pebble mulch to make it as low maintenance as possible.