A completed contemporary garden in Radlett, Hertfordshire, where architectural water features, sculptural trees and naturalistic planting come together to create a beautifully balanced space for outdoor living.
A Garden with Structure and Atmosphere
This private garden in Radlett was designed to feel calm, generous and inviting, with spaces for entertaining alongside quieter areas to sit and enjoy the surroundings.
The layout is built around a simple, confident geometry. Long, clean lines connect the terraces, water feature and planting areas, while a circular seating space provides a softer contrast.
The architecture gives the garden its shape, but the planting brings it to life. Trees, clipped evergreens and generous drifts of flowering perennials soften the edges, introducing texture, movement and seasonal change.
The balance between these two elements is what gives the garden its character. Structured without feeling rigid, contemporary without losing its warmth.
Water at the Heart of the Garden
The linear water feature is one of the defining elements of the design.
Its long, dark surface reflects the surrounding planting and changing sky, while gently bubbling jets introduce movement and sound. Set within a restrained palette of paving and gravel, the water provides a quiet focal point without overwhelming the space.
The lines of the water feature continue into the surrounding terraces and planting beds, giving the garden a sense of continuity.
The detailing is deliberately understated. Carefully selected materials, subtle changes in texture and crisp edges allow the architecture and planting to work together without competing for attention.
A Place to Gather
A circular fire pit creates a more intimate space within the wider garden.
Its shape contrasts with the straight lines of the water feature and pathways, introducing a different rhythm to the layout. Comfortable seating makes this a natural place to gather with friends and family, particularly as the light begins to fade.
The relationship between water and fire gives the garden much of its atmosphere. One brings reflection and stillness; the other warmth and a sense of occasion.
Planting That Softens the Architecture
The planting was designed to feel generous and natural, providing a softer contrast to the clean lines of the hard landscaping.
Pleached hornbeams establish height, privacy and a strong architectural backdrop, while carefully positioned specimen trees introduce more individual forms.
Clipped yew provides year-round structure. Around it, ornamental grasses and flowering perennials, including Salvia, Nepeta and Allium, create layers of colour, texture and movement.
Rather than relying on isolated groups of plants, the borders are arranged in broad, interwoven drifts. This gives the planting a more settled appearance and allows different species to emerge and take prominence as the seasons change.
The result is a garden with a clear underlying structure, but one that never feels rigid or overly formal.
Designed to Be Enjoyed Throughout the Year
Seasonality was an important consideration from the outset.
The pleached trees, evergreen forms and architectural detailing provide a strong framework through winter. In spring and summer, fresh foliage and flowering perennials soften the garden, while ornamental grasses bring movement and texture later in the year.
The completed garden demonstrates how architectural design and naturalistic planting can work together to create an outdoor space that is both practical and beautiful.
It is a garden designed not simply to be looked at, but to be lived in.
Garden Design in Radlett and Hertfordshire
Tim Jennings Design is an RHS award-winning garden and landscape design practice creating distinctive private gardens across Hertfordshire, Cambridge, East Anglia and London.
Our work combines architectural structure with naturalistic planting, with careful attention to the relationship between the house, garden and surrounding landscape.
From contemporary family gardens to larger country properties, each design is developed around the individual character of the setting and the way our clients want to live.
Discuss Your Garden
If you are considering a new garden design or the transformation of an existing landscape, we would be delighted to hear from you.
For more information please contact Tim on 07931 278692 or email: tim@timjenningsdesign.co.uk
