Low-maintenance planting

As the clients travel frequently, low maintenance was a key requirement. The planting scheme was designed to provide year-round structure, texture and seasonal interest while requiring minimal upkeep. Carefully selected evergreen planting, ornamental grasses and architectural shrubs soften the contemporary hard landscaping without compromising the clean, uncluttered aesthetic.

Hot tub and entertaining spaces

A luxurious hot tub was seamlessly integrated into the design, surrounded by bespoke screening that provides privacy while maintaining an open and spacious feel. Dedicated areas for relaxing, outdoor dining and entertaining allow the garden to be enjoyed throughout the year, creating a true extension of the home.

The result

The completed garden is a sophisticated outdoor environment that combines elegant contemporary design with practical, low-maintenance landscaping. It demonstrates how thoughtful landscape architecture can transform a blank canvas into a stylish and highly functional outdoor living space that complements both the property and the lifestyle of its owners.

Garden office and pond seating

One of the most significant changes was the redevelopment of a previously unused area of the garden. This space was reimagined as a bespoke garden office, providing a peaceful and productive place to work from home. Adjacent to the office, we designed a sheltered seating area centred around a beautifully integrated circular pond, creating a tranquil setting for relaxation and informal entertaining.

Outdoor kitchen and dining

Closer to the house, the original patio was redesigned to become a stylish outdoor kitchen and dining area. This new entertaining space seamlessly connects the home with the garden, making it ideal for family gatherings and alfresco dining throughout the seasons.

Planting design

To complete the transformation, new planting borders were introduced throughout the garden. Carefully selected trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials provide year-round structure, seasonal colour, texture and biodiversity, ensuring the garden continues to evolve throughout the seasons while complementing the surrounding Kent countryside.

The result

This bespoke landscape design demonstrates how thoughtful planning, high-quality craftsmanship and carefully considered planting can transform an ordinary country garden into a series of elegant outdoor living spaces that are both beautiful and highly functional.

Features That Elevate Outdoor Entertaining

Our entertainment-focused designs primarily feature pergola shelters over, and around outdoor kitchens, and seating areas, which provide a central hub for cooking, dining, and socialising.

Furthermore, integrating elements such as pools, firepits, and flexible seating zones enhances the gardens ability to host gatherings of all sizes.

Other popular areas that feature in our contemporary designs often include pergolas with climbing plants, which can be used as a private area with seating, or a pleasant walkway through your garden.

The results of these specialist features are not only visually striking, but also enrich the outdoor entertainment experience.

The water feature

Our design centred around a striking split-level water feature that flows through the garden, creating movement, sound and a strong visual focal point. The water feature connects a series of carefully designed outdoor spaces, encouraging exploration while providing a calm, relaxing atmosphere throughout the garden.r.

Privacy and screening

To create year-round screening, we specified and installed a mature 3-metre evergreen boundary hedge, providing immediate privacy and establishing a secluded setting from day one. This instant screening transformed the experience of the garden, allowing the clients to enjoy their outdoor space in complete comfort.

Planting design

The planting scheme was carefully designed to complement the water feature, combining architectural structure with softer textures and seasonal interest. Layers of ornamental grasses, perennials and evergreen planting create movement, biodiversity and year-round appeal while softening the hard landscaping.

Seating and outdoor living

Multiple seating areas were incorporated throughout the design, each offering a different perspective of the water and planting. Whether enjoying morning coffee, entertaining guests or simply relaxing beside the sound of flowing water, every part of the garden has a distinct purpose and atmosphere.

The result

The finished landscape delivers far more than an attractive garden. It creates an immediate sense of maturity that is often missing from new-build properties, seamlessly integrating the house into its surroundings. The result is a luxury outdoor space that enhances everyday living while adding significant value to the property.

Kitchen garden

For clients who enjoy growing their own produce, we designed a productive kitchen and vegetable garden with raised planting beds, creating an attractive and practical area that integrates beautifully into the wider landscape.

Arrival and entrance

The arrival experience was equally important. A new entrance drive and bespoke gates were designed to enhance the property’s rural character while providing a strong sense of arrival that reflects the quality of the home.

Wildlife pond

To maximise biodiversity, we incorporated a wildlife pond, creating valuable habitat for birds, amphibians, insects and pollinators while introducing a peaceful focal point within the garden. Native and naturalistic planting around the pond allows it to blend effortlessly into the surrounding countryside.

Courtyard and seating

A sheltered courtyard garden was designed as a private retreat for the hot tub, protected from prevailing winds and offering a secluded space that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Throughout the wider garden, a number of carefully positioned seating areas provide different viewpoints, allowing the owners to experience the changing light, seasonal planting and panoramic views from a variety of locations.

Planting design

The planting scheme combines ornamental structure with naturalistic drifts of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees, ensuring year-round interest while strengthening the connection between the formal garden and the surrounding landscape. Every element was selected to soften the new-build setting, creating the impression of a mature country garden that has evolved naturally over time.

The result

The completed garden has transformed the property into a distinctive rural home where architecture, landscape and nature work in harmony. The result is a beautiful and functional outdoor space that enhances the setting, encourages biodiversity and provides a garden that will continue to mature for generations.

Technology Meets Landscape Design

Technology should never dominate a garden, it should enhance it.

Every Smart Home Garden is individually designed to complement the architecture of the property, the surrounding landscape and the lifestyle of the client.

Hidden infrastructure, carefully integrated planting and bespoke detailing ensure that advanced technology remains discreet while delivering exceptional functionality.

The result is an outdoor space that feels luxurious, intuitive and effortless to use.

Designed for Every Season

A Smart Home Garden extends the enjoyment of your outdoor space throughout the year.

Automated lighting, integrated entertainment, sheltered seating areas, outdoor kitchens and intelligent environmental controls create a garden that can be enjoyed during every season.

Whether entertaining guests, relaxing with family, working from a dedicated garden office or simply enjoying the landscape, every feature works together to create a seamless outdoor experience.

The garden designs that Oakmore Green proposed to the client included a sinuous pathway throughout the garden with the stream running adjacent to it. The hot tub was positioned in the top corner of the garden with the garden room next to it. In the middle of the garden was a curved seat that looked out onto the planting around the waterfall and stream with decorative stones amongst it.

There were a selection of new trees that Oakmore Green designed into the space to create more privacy for the clients as they had neighbours either side of them. The variation of colours that the leaves turned throughout the year really make the space stand out.

The existing patio that was by the house was too small to fit a dining table and chairs on so Oakmore Green extended the existing space with decking to create a larger area. The contemporary outdoor kitchen was designed on the masterplan to be near to the house so that the client could easily access it from inside when entertaining with family and friends.

Once the planting began to fill out in the borders and around the stream the space really came to life. the clients were delighted with their new garden design and could final enjoy having friends and family round to entertain with now that they had a functional garden with the space to enjoy and be proud of.

The client was having trouble to get anything to grow in the soil after having the property developed. After an initial site visit Oakmore Green discovered that the soil was poor in nutrients which is why none of the plants they had brought were surviving.

We organised the removal of the unusable soil in the beds and around the pond and new quality top soil replaced them all in order to give the plants the best start. Irrigation was set up throughout all the beds and borders ready for when the plants were planted.

Irrigation is so important to have when you have your garden designed as all plants need regular watering, especially when they are first planted to give them the best chance at surviving and looking there best.

Oakmore Green got to designing planting plans for the garden and around the large pond. We created a rockery at one end of the pond where the land was slightly raised to encase the bank and give it some structure. Tall plants were planted in drifts across the length of the pond and around the pathways in the garden. This created gentle sound and movement throughout the space.

Perennials were planted in groups across the garden to create colourful barriers and guide your way as you walk around the garden. The planting design directly around the house was quiet contemporary to match the style of the refurbished barn conversion with a lot of structure and symmetry.

The planting design further out in the garden and around the pond was more informal with a traditional style to it creating a relaxed and colourful garden that the clients were overjoyed with.

A great example of this is a large garden that we designed for our clients in Sevenoaks, Kent. The clients had a large garden with a variety of different levels that was overlooking the countryside.

They were looking for a traditional English country style to it but with a modern touch. Oakmore Green began by dividing up the garden creating different rooms which really gave the open space some depth to it and created new areas.

It had a small stream flowing through the centre of the landscape which we enhanced with a rockery and planting to make it more appealing for nature.

We designed various new patio areas including a large seating area by the pool house for the clients to enjoy whilst looking across the garden into the wider landscape of Sevenoaks, Kent.

The use of sculptures in this garden really helped to capture some incredible focal points.

The sculptures we used were from a local sculpturist and they were substantial enough to be viewed from across the garden creating different perspectives depending on where you were within the space.

With a section of the lawn area Oakmore Green designed a perennial wildflower meadow that looks spectacular when it’s in flower.

The client really wanted to enhance the wildlife that visited their garden and we thought this was a great addition to the masterplan and a great way to make the most the space and create a haven for wildlife which the client was delighted with.

Key design features

Pool house a refined poolside pavilion that reads as an extension of the house, designed for lounging, entertaining and shelter from summer sun.

Paddle court a leisure space carefully sited and screened so it feels part of the garden without dominating the view.

Vegetable garden practical, well-laid-out beds and access paths close to the kitchen, yet tucked away so they feel like a secret productive garden.

Breeze house a sheltered, semi-open structure for relaxation, reading and enjoying the garden in lighter winds.

Children’s play area safe, fun and visible from the house, with naturalistic play elements and soft surfacing.

Water feature a subtle, sculptural element that provides sound and movement, anchoring sight-lines between the house and the wider landscape.

Planting palette structural evergreens and clipped hedging for formality, with warm Mediterranean-toned shrubs and perennials to evoke that Italian atmosphere while remaining suitable for the local climate.

Hardscape natural stone terraces, ornamental steps and resin gravel drives chosen to complement the house materials and provide age-resistant, low-maintenance surfaces.

The result

The finished garden reads as a single, elegant composition: classical in proportion but relaxed enough for family life. It links the formal frontage to the new drive and the utilitarian vegetable garden with a sequence of spaces that reward exploration.

The brief

The brief was ambitious and the timescale was demanding. The garden needed to be completed in time for a special birthday celebration, meaning the design, specification and implementation all had to be carefully coordinated to achieve the required finish within a strict programme.

The clients specifically wanted a Braai outdoor kitchen, creating a focal point for entertaining and allowing them to cook and dine outside throughout much of the year.

Its position within the wider garden was carefully considered so that it worked as both a practical cooking area and a social space, connecting naturally with the surrounding seating and entertaining areas.

This approach to outdoor living is increasingly important in contemporary landscape garden design, where gardens are designed as functional extensions of the home rather than simply planted spaces.

With over 30 years of experience in garden design and landscape design, I understand how to combine the aesthetic, practical and technical aspects of a project to create gardens that are both beautiful and highly functional.