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We have lived in our current house since 1992 and the large corner plot garden has developed over the years to cater for the needs of our family. The garden was a completely blank canvas when we moved in, completely laid to lawn (with the exception of five shrubs!) and two rectangles of paving slabs. Our peaty, free draining acid soil means that we can grow plants like azaleas, pieris and camellias.

Since then we have added an ornamental vegetable garden, complete with clipped box hedging, a long herbaceous border and a "tropical" island bed. In the summer of 2005, we had an extension added to the rear of our property and, as a result, I redesigned the garden surrounding the house.

The plan shown incorporates a new natural sandstone patio area outside the French doors following the curve of the existing island bed, to give a sense of enclosure. A monolith water feature provides sound and movement near the patio and connecting stone sett circles provide new interest outside the living room. The existing mature planting has been incorporated into the design.

The new garden was built in February 2006. All patio areas and paths are now connected bringing a sense of unity to the whole garden and new beds have been created, giving me the opportunity to create a damp shaded bed with ferns and hostas and a mixed summer border with grasses and herbaceous perennials.