Garden Tour: A Small City Garden With Rich Rust Accents
Corten steel panels and complementary planting have given this courtyard garden a beautiful finish – day and night
This London garden had to pack a whole lot into a small footprint. It needed to be an outdoor living space and, located as it is at the front of a mews house, make an impression as an entrance, too. It’s also a place to park the car and is home to three wheelie bins. Garden designer Georgia Lindsay was on the case to create a multi-purpose marvel.
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This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Previously, the division between the parking space and the remainder limited the garden’s potential, while the sparse planting wasn’t thriving. “It was like being at the side of a car park,” Georgia says.
The professional couple needed their exterior space to be an outdoor room that was low-maintenance. With a family planned when they began the project, safety, comfort and accessibility were also high on their agenda.
Georgia used built-in seating. “In a small garden, it’s always going to be a good use of space,” she says. “Cushions add comfort.”
A raised concrete bed with a rendered finish created a framework for the bench, and there’s planting behind. “It’s a dark corner, so there are lots of ferns and plants that can do well in the shade,” Georgia says. They include the grassy Carex and fern Dryopteris, seen here.
Behind are Corten steel panels that were designed bespoke for the garden.
Georgia chose exterior porcelain underfoot because it’s durable, demands little upkeep and is non-porous. It was a way of future-proofing the space destined to be used by a family. “When you have kids – and spillages are likely – porcelain is a great option,” she says.
The paving is in two colours to create a striped design that reflects the linear larch cladding of the house.
Plants, Provender Nurseries. Corten steel panels, Decori. Porcelain paving in Slab Coke and Silver Grey, London Stone.
Georgia used built-in seating. “In a small garden, it’s always going to be a good use of space,” she says. “Cushions add comfort.”
A raised concrete bed with a rendered finish created a framework for the bench, and there’s planting behind. “It’s a dark corner, so there are lots of ferns and plants that can do well in the shade,” Georgia says. They include the grassy Carex and fern Dryopteris, seen here.
Behind are Corten steel panels that were designed bespoke for the garden.
Georgia chose exterior porcelain underfoot because it’s durable, demands little upkeep and is non-porous. It was a way of future-proofing the space destined to be used by a family. “When you have kids – and spillages are likely – porcelain is a great option,” she says.
The paving is in two colours to create a striped design that reflects the linear larch cladding of the house.
Plants, Provender Nurseries. Corten steel panels, Decori. Porcelain paving in Slab Coke and Silver Grey, London Stone.
Taken while planting was in progress, this photo shows the design of the paving. The dark stripes align with the tyre tracks of the car to avoid marks, with the lighter grey in between.
The roller shutter is finished in the same grey shade as the planters for a smart effect.
The roller shutter is finished in the same grey shade as the planters for a smart effect.
A magnolia tree grows up through the bench. “There was another tree in that position that had been given a tree preservation order and, as part of the planning consent, we had to replace it,” Georgia says.
As the magnolia matures, it will form a canopy that will provide more privacy from neighbouring properties, as well as refreshing shade. In the small garden, having it grow through the bench maximises the use of the space and makes it a feature.
The Corten steel panels behind are laser cut in a design that echoes the magnolia’s leaf shape, as well as the outline of the pebbles at its base.
As the magnolia matures, it will form a canopy that will provide more privacy from neighbouring properties, as well as refreshing shade. In the small garden, having it grow through the bench maximises the use of the space and makes it a feature.
The Corten steel panels behind are laser cut in a design that echoes the magnolia’s leaf shape, as well as the outline of the pebbles at its base.
The panels are backlit. “It’s just brick wall behind, but it opens up the space at night – and in daylight there’s a strong contrast with the shadows behind, so you don’t feel so hemmed in,” Georgia says.
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Find the right designer for your garden project in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
The bifold doors of the refurbished house open directly onto the seating area, which is atmospheric after dark. “Pools of light fall onto the bench and paving. It’s like dappled tree light making patterns on the ground. It’s really magical,” Georgia says.
Amazingly, this area also houses the wheelie bins. Georgia allowed just their width behind the slim steel panels to minimise them protruding into the garden, and the planter alongside is on castors, allowing it to be pulled out of the way to access them.
The garden’s planters were made to measure to align with the width of the paving and the bench. Made from fibreglass, they have a powder-coated grey finish that complements the paving and the grey paintwork of the house, as well as the bifold door frames.
Planters, Cedar Nursery.
Amazingly, this area also houses the wheelie bins. Georgia allowed just their width behind the slim steel panels to minimise them protruding into the garden, and the planter alongside is on castors, allowing it to be pulled out of the way to access them.
The garden’s planters were made to measure to align with the width of the paving and the bench. Made from fibreglass, they have a powder-coated grey finish that complements the paving and the grey paintwork of the house, as well as the bifold door frames.
Planters, Cedar Nursery.
These are the panels when just installed and beginning to rust. They take around two months to develop their beautiful orange patina.
The plants selected for the garden include those with foliage that complements the steel panels. “I wanted to echo the rust and bronze tones within the planting,” Georgia says.
The planting plan features plenty of evergreens to keep the garden low-maintenance, and Georgia kept the colour palette simple and the selection limited. “With a small space, you don’t want to add too many varieties of plants,” she says.
Georgia included Euphorbia, which has leaves with reddish tones and orange flowers in summer, and Coprosma, which has rusted foliage, as part of the planting.
Tell us…
What do you like about this multi-purpose courtyard garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Tell us…
What do you like about this multi-purpose courtyard garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A professional couple
Location Camden, north London
Property A refurbished mews house
Garden dimensions 42 sq m
Designer Georgia Lindsay of Georgia Lindsay Garden Design
Photos by Nathalie Priem and Georgia Lindsay
The garden is a narrow rectangle across the front of the house. From the street, a roller shutter opens to give access to a parking space on the right and on the left is the seating area.
“The owners were keen to make the whole rectangle usable when the car isn’t there,” Georgia explains. “The parking space had to look like a garden.”
Furniture and accessories, Ikea.