The Dry Garden, De Beauvoir

The client of this South facing garden in East London wanted a space that evokes a Mediterranean landscape, so we opted to create a dry gravel garden.  Planting beds were topped with a 200mm layer of sharp sand and grit and planted with drought tolerant species that would be happy in the hot and dry conditions.

Three trees were planted to bring height, structure and shade to the garden as they grow over time: an evergreen Quercus ilex (Holm Oak) for screening at the back, a tall Elaeagnus ebbingei to soften the fencing and a multistem Amelanchier lamarckii in the centre of the bed for seasonal interest.

Underneath these we planted a mixture of grasses for movement and winter interest (e.g Stipa pseudoichu and Penisetum macrourum), a selection of drought tolerant bulbs such as Allium sphaerocephalon and Tulipa turkestanica, and summer flowering perennials like Catananche caerulea and Lychnis coronaria. A specimen Pinus mugo was planted in the front right corner as an evergreen anchor at the start of the garden.  

We planted in the winter and despite the extremely hot and dry summer we’ve had this year, the plants have thrived with almost no irrigation. The thick layer of sand acts as a barrier, trapping in moisture and keeping the soil below cool. 

The office pod at the back of the garden sits on a raised timber deck and is clad in Western Red Cedar slats to match the existing fencing. A concealed door hides a discreet storage area at the back of the unit, and the green roof softens the building while helping with insulation.