We are working once again in the heart of Chelsea, and although our clients are English, they have commissioned us to create a garden from classically Italian materials: Quercus ilex, or holm oak, and clipped box.

We always aim to satisfy each of the three senses with our designs: sight, sound and scent. Here the sound of running water is provided by the flow from three bronze taps into a beautiful stone basin. The Jasmine scrambling over green walls flanking this simple fountain will fill the air on summer evenings with its scent.

A broad lawn is flanked on two sides by drum-shaped holm oaks, their robust shapes creating an effective screen from neighbouring gardens and echoing the architecture of the rear façade of the house.

Tightly clipped box balls jostle with an abundance of perennial planting between the trees’ bare trunks. The cool simplicity of this arrangement is echoed by a planting palette restricted to green and white, a display that kicks off with snowdrops in January, sees out the spring with white and viridiflora tulips, and extends the theme into summer with the ghostly presence of white alliums, pale roses and astilbes.

We have shown similar restraint with the hard landscaping, using the same mellow sandstone for the curved benches beside the fountain and the paving that encloses the lawn and creates a comfortable terrace beside the house. This terrace is furnished with a large table as our clients intend to share this beautiful space with friends.

Status Completed works

Type Parks, Public Gardens