Rather than relying on a conventional rectangular layout, the entire composition was set at 45 degrees. That single move changed the feeling of the space completely. It created a subtle sense of movement and allowed the planting beds to become larger, deeper and more immersive than a standard geometric arrangement would usually permit.
The imagined brief was for a young New Zealand couple with a sharp eye for design and a love of entertaining. They wanted a near-seamless terrace, a Corten steel bioclimatic pergola, a quirky sculptural seat, a simple reflective water feature and an outdoor kitchen that made cooking part of the occasion rather than something hidden away in the background.
The result was a garden with a deliberately polished edge, but one softened by planting that felt loose, generous and alive. Contemporary materials gave the scheme its structure: Corten steel, large-format paving, a refined pergola, a rolling outdoor kitchen and a calm reflective gravel pool. Around them, the planting brought movement, colour and a little mischief.
The palette was built around a rich, almost Tyrian mood. Squint at the planting and the colours settle into a smoky blend of purple, maroon, brown, orange and white, lifted by bright flashes of neon energy. Eryngium, Salvia, Kniphofia, grasses and finely textured foliage created a garden that felt both architectural and wild at the edges.
The pergola gave the terrace shade, shelter and presence, extending the usefulness of the garden well beyond the easy hours of a summer afternoon. The outdoor kitchen placed the flames only seconds from the table, turning cooking into a shared ritual. The water feature offered the opposite note: stillness, reflection and a quiet pause away from the noise of the showground.
This was a garden about outdoor living, certainly, but not as a catalogue of products. It was about how those elements can be composed into a space with soul. A garden with bite, glamour and softness in equal measure. A place where Corten, colour, fire, water and planting all had a part to play.
