Portfolio & Projects – Green Eye Garden Design

Beside the Seaside

A new-build garden with a large, uninterrupted lawn leading to the garden room was redesigned to create distinct spaces for entertaining, relaxing, and sunbathing throughout the day. The main patio by the house was extended and wrapped with a raised bed to add structure and soften the hard landscaping. Stepping stones guide you across the lawn to a sequence of arches that weave through a gravel garden, passing a fire pit area before reaching the far end of the space. Planting focuses on drought tolerant species that offer long-lasting colour, texture, and architectural interest.

Cross the Lawn

Adding paths and shapes to a garden changes not just how it looks, but how it feels and how you move through it. The core idea is that layout creates atmosphere: calm and flowing, crisp and formal, playful and surprising, or natural and wild.

Gravel Garden

A gravel garden can be an ideal solution as we face increasingly dry summers. As gravel is a local, natural material, it blends effortlessly into the landscape while creating a resilient, low‑maintenance planting space. When combined with long‑flowering perennials, ornamental grasses, and drought‑tolerant shrubs such as Choisya and Pittosporum, a gravel garden offers colour, texture, and structure throughout the year. The gravel helps suppress weeds and retain moisture, reducing upkeep while supporting plants that thrive in heat and dry conditions.

Long and Narrow

Long, narrow gardens often work best when they’re divided into a series of ‘rooms’. In this garden, the first section was paved, leading into a gravel area, then a fire pit zone, and finally a stretch of lawn. Raised beds and arches helped define each space, while the change in ground materials reinforced the sense of moving from one distinct area to the next.

Courtyard Levels

Even a small garden can be divided into distinct, characterful areas. A pergola can transform a simple seating spot into an inviting destination, while thoughtful planting adds interest throughout the year. In this space, shade and drought tolerant plants thrive beneath the tree canopy, and the architectural forms of Phormiums and the movement of Stipa bring depth and year round structure.

Corridor to Courtyard

A dead end corridor once used only for recycling storage was transformed into an inviting extension of the garden. The paving was extended to create a small seating area for a bistro set outside the French doors, and the walls were painted white to brighten the space. A garden mirror was added to reflect light and increase the sense of depth. Reclaimed chimney pots planted with box balls introduce a strong sculptural element, while the planting palette was kept deliberately simple in calming shades of white and green.

Dead Space to Productive

Even the most uninspiring spaces can be transformed into useful, attractive parts of the garden. This area, previously used just for storage, became a garden highlight after the addition of raised beds for fruit and vegetable growing and 3 stunning circular arches to support climbing roses.

Something Simple

In this garden the addition of a brick circle and considered planting transformed an ordinary birdbath into a beautiful focal point with long season of flowering provided by tulips, alliums, lavender and sedums.

Sell your House

A fast growing shrub planted in the wrong place can quickly become a maintenance headache. In this front garden, the Escallonia had begun to block light and hide the attractive façade of the house. We removed it and introduced a half standard Cotoneaster to give height without bulk, paired with low evergreen hedging and colourful evergreen Heuchera for year round interest. The lawn was also replaced with gravel to reduce upkeep and create a cleaner, more contemporary look.