All gardens pose some challenges but this one threw up a disproportionate number given its small size! The garden was made up of four distinct areas, bearing no relationship to each other and all at different levels; part of the garden also projected into a beautiful landscape of valley, meadow and hedges. My main objective was to link the four areas and to create a garden that sat comfortably with the contemporary interior of the old stone farmhouse and also with the rural idyll beyond. I also wanted to make it clearer, for my client's visitors, to know where the front door is - you'd be amazed how often it's not obvious!

I kept the existing paving, but took out strips for a double row of stone setts to create a visual illusion of a path to the front door. Raised beds for herbs, edged with 6mm steel, enclosed a rectangular central area and so disguised its triangular shape. This theme of a double row of setts and chunky steel edging were used throughout the rest of the garden to create a unity between the areas.

The main garden, on a slope with what I got to call 'the lump' in one corner, was re-contoured into three level areas; a terrace that ran the width of the garden from the rear (bedroom) doors; a retaining wall to take out 'the lump' and a lawn flanked by bands of grasses and flowers that mirrored the hedges beyond, creating a link between house and its landscape.

Photos copyright Jason Ingram http://www.jasoningram.co.uk/