Small Cheshire gardens: a portfolio

Small gardens are harder than big ones. You can't rely on distance to do the work, so every detail matters more. Five recent projects between 40m² and 120m² and the moves that made them feel bigger than the measurements suggest.

A townhouse courtyard in Knutsford

60m² bounded on three sides by red brick. We painted two walls a deep Forest green, laid a single-tone 800×800 porcelain paver corner-to-corner, and planted a single multi-stem Amelanchier as the focal point. Fewer moves, bigger read.

A terrace in Hale Barns

80m² long and narrow. We resisted the urge to break it into rooms and ran one continuous oak deck the whole length, with a bench seat tying the boundary fence to the ground. The length became the feature, not the problem.

A new-build in Alderley Edge

100m² with a featureless turf lawn. We carved an asymmetric Corten-edged planting bed across the centre — the curve draws the eye away from the rectangular footprint. Same lawn, different garden.