worsley design & consultancy

The influence for this garden was Marrakech. The combination of climbing roses mint, narrow pergolas like winding paths through a souk and polished concrete are all inspired by Morocco. The main path leads to a children’s garden at the back, complete with yurt, sand pit, lawn and hidden trampoline. Once the garden is fully grown, there will be tall large sky-rocket Cypress trees visible above the pergolas, and a Taxus screen pierced by three gothic arches will divide the back and front gardens. The garden is also laden with fruit, vegetables and herbs – apples, artichokes, cherries and a lemon verbena plant for making delicious herbal tea.

The challenge for the this garden in Bermondsey was to hide the garage-style door on the back wall, and maximise the space. We installed a screen, which  will eventually be covered in green climbers, and clad the back left and right walls completely with mirror glass, which tripled the space. The pleached hornbeam trees will fill out the bamboo frames, and grasses will grow up beneath them. The clients wanted a low-maintenance contemporary garden, which made the most of their small space.

The client wanted a private roof terrace for her house in Chelsea, that would function as a quiet space for sunbathing, relaxing and a chance to enjoy the view. The hardwood decking screened the terrace from the neighbours, and the client was going to install a sail-style shade at the top of the pergola area. A smart new hand-rail, two olive trees and uplighters completed the project.

We installed elegant hardwood decking, using wide boards to work with the floorboards of the interior. The client wanted to overhaul his roof terrace in order to attract buyers when selling the property. High powder-coated planters, with a simple box hedge gave it a smart facelift, and up-lighters set into the decking make the garden look magnificent at night. Two outdoor sofas will complete the terrace, and the box will grow and be clipped into neat squared-off line.

The clients wanted a formal and smart garden for the front of the house. The brick parking area and raised beds were already installed, and we added an instant Taxus hedge and Buxus spheres. The clean lines and repetition of the spheres creates a pleasing sense of order. All the planting on the long border is evergreen, except for a few white flowering winter annuals, which means that the garden will look formal and smart throughout the year. We also planted tiny white Narcissus (daffodils) bulbs to come up in spring.

The clients built a beautiful new house at the far end of their garden, and our job was to create a link garden between the two, as well as a new garden for the new house.

The client wanted a clean, contemporary garden that she could enjoy during the day, and crucially at night, as she worked long hours. We drilled holes in the paving and installed minute fibre optic lights, so that at night the floor would look like it was scattered with glowing fireflies.

The clients wanted a child-friendly garden which couldn’t be ruined by a game of football. On our advice their builders installed high-quality astroturf, paving and elegant raised beds. The inspiration for the planting came from cherry blossom worship in Japan, and so we created a garden filled with beautiful blooms. The fence will eventually be hidden by climbing roses and Clematis.

Although the paving and arches were already there, we redid all the planting and pots on this roof terrace. We replaced terracotta pots with black powder-coated metal ones, and added rich rust-coloured grasses, lush vines and pine trees. The site is hot, wind-swept and exposed, and needs an efficient automatic watering system to keep the plants alive. Twice a year we add in annual flowers to create a blaze of colour.

In this dark shady garden, we added light, scent and colour with glossy evergreens and bright flowers.

We repaved this space with soft grey limestone, and installed a planting scheme in a cool palette of whites and greens. In the shady basement area in front of the house we added in powder-coated planters full of grasses and bulbs.

Although the curved pathway was already there, we added bold red metal spikes and a green tapestry of evergreen planting in this shady garden on Cheyne Walk.

We created a private front garden complete with fragrant lavender, sage and rosemary. The new wall, high gate and fence – soon to be covered with Wisteria sinensis and Trachelospermum jasminoides – created a safe space where the children could play. The white walls and pale grey limestone helped to bring more light into the space. Originally the garden was a dark concrete and weed-covered yard, with a tumbling down low fence.

We transformed this courtyard from a dark overgrown space to a beautiful paved garden perfect for entertaining at night.

We designed a meandering path snaking past the front of the house so that the client could and enjoy his daily walk from the front door to the parking area.

This garden needed to provide a beautiful view from the glass-fronted kitchen at all times of the year, and work as practical space that all the family could enjoy.