A contemporary garden with water and lighting

A contemporary garden design near Stamford, Lincolnshire

A market town full of characterful and charming properties and a fabulously youthful and vibrant energy, Stamford is a garden designer’s delight. So, when the call came from this particular customer in a beautiful small village on the outskirts of Stamford we were naturally really excited.

Time for a change? We want to contemporary seating and entertaining area

The design brief for the new garden was pretty simple- having spent more than ten years creating an absolutely lovely traditional rural garden, our customers felt it was time for a change for an important corner of their garden. With a derelict pond, a crumbling timber arbour, and two dated stone raised beds, it was all beginning to feel a little tired and needed to be replaced.

“We’d like something it bit more contemporary” they said when describing the new seating and entertaining area they wanted our help with, “ideally something that gives us somewhere to sit and relax in both the sun and in the shade, and which also gives us a bit of protection from the prevailing wind”. Ok, we can help with that.

Our garden design concept is deceptively simple, but perfectly suited to a smaller garden area like this. Three identically-sized squares link together to form a compact but delightfully different space. The first square provides relaxed and comfortable seating and is accessed from the main garden via three comfortably-wide steps. This change of level creates a sense of ‘destination’ and added interest for the first square, but also helps to reduce the effects of the winds. An L-shaped waist-high glass screen provides additional wind protection whilst maintaining uninterrupted views to the rest of the existing garden. A statement ‘open-sided cube’ structure with a removable overhead canvas sail completes the space perfectly and provides a little welcome shade at the height of the summer.

The adjoining second square is a single step higher and boasts a centrally-positioned water feature for sound and visual interest. Made from corten steel, this stunning feature definitely adds a contemporary edge to the new garden. The gently bubbling water creates just the right amount of relaxing background noise, before disappearing and recirculating via a self-contained reservoir.

Our third square is another single step higher and is dominated by a large overheard corten steel structure. Providing cooling shade for throughout the day, this commanding contemporary structure extends to the full width of the square. Offering wonderful views across our new creation and beyond to the rest of the wider garden, this is a particularly pleasing space in which to sit and pause for a well-deserved rest.