This recently completed garden near Dorking was designed to sit seamlessly alongside a beautifully minimalist house, extending the architecture into the landscape while creating a softer, more immersive setting for everyday life outdoors.

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The clients were renovating their home and wanted the garden to feel like a natural continuation of its clean, contemporary style. The design therefore takes its cues from the architecture, using simple forms and strong lines to create a sense of connection between the house and garden. Paving flows directly from the interior living spaces outside, while softly curving Corten steel walls define the main terrace and introduce warmth and texture against the restrained architecture.

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Beyond the terrace, the garden opens out into a series of connected spaces. Planted rills create gentle divisions between different seating areas, adding structure without making the garden feel overly formal. These subtle changes in level and direction encourage movement through the space, creating glimpses of planting and inviting you to explore the garden rather than taking everything in at once.

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The planting was deliberately used to soften the architectural framework. Where the house is pared back and minimal, the garden is abundant and expressive, with lush layers of planting spilling over the Corten edges and softening the boundaries between hard and soft landscape. A naturalistic palette of foliage, texture and seasonal colour brings movement and a sense of immersion in nature, while maintaining enough structure to complement the architecture.

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The relationship between the house and garden was particularly important. From inside, the garden is viewed through large expanses of glass, making it an extension of the living space rather than something separate from it. The strong architectural lines gradually dissolve into layers of planting, drawing the eye beyond the garden towards the wider landscape and the beautiful Surrey Hills beyond.

 

The result is a garden that balances two seemingly contrasting qualities: the simplicity and clarity of the architecture with the softness, movement and abundance of nature. A calm, contemporary outdoor space that feels connected to the home, immersed in its planting and rooted in the wider Surrey landscape.