Naturalistic family garden for a mid-century style home

I’ve recently been working on a design concept for a family garden in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire. My clients’ mid-century style house was built in the 1970s and is currently undergoing renovation by Michael Collins Architects, an award-winning Hertfordshire and London practice that specialises in sustainable and zero carbon buildings.

Starting early on the garden design

Garden designers are often approached after renovation or construction work is complete. On this project, it was wonderful to be commissioned earlier on in the process – while Michael Collins Architects were still working on the project.

At the rear of the house, the new design will create a better relationship with the garden. A 1980s conservatory is being demolished; remodeling along with a small extension will open up the link between interior and exterior.

View of the deck with integrated planting bed outside the sunken dining area off the kitchen.  Climbers soften the pergola and fence line, such as Wisteria floribunda f. alba ‘Shiro-noda’ and climbing Rosa ‘The Generous Gardener’.

My brief was to work with the architect’s design for the house, carefully considering the views from the house – and the link between house and garden.

Taking design inspiration from childhood

While talking with the clients about their desires for the garden itself, childhood memories of visiting a relative’s woodland cabin gave a seed of inspiration. Related to this was the idea to capture, within the garden design, the feeling of an escape into nature.

My clients are open to quite a wild aesthetic and with naturalistic planting. They are also keen to incorporate opportunities for their children to engage in imaginative play.

After our conversations, I found it helpful to write down some words in order to encapsulate the kind of feelings or experiences that the new garden design aims to provide:

View from the deck

While working on the design, I have reflected on my own experience as a child and as a parent. Some of my happiest memories of childhood are of hours spent playing in streams. And, although my own children are now in their late teens, exploring rivers and waterways is still one of our favourite things to do when we are on holiday together.

For the Letchworth garden design, I also drew on some of the landscapes encountered last summer on a family holiday to Sweden. 

Planting and landscaping

The water begins as a stream emerging between boulders and then flows into a wildlife pond, which narrows towards the end of the garden to allow a plank bridge crossing. Just beyond is a wildflower meadow patch.  The trees in the design are a mix of birch and alder trees. 

Flexibility for an evolving family space

At the bottom of the garden there is a playhouse with a slide that can easily be replaced with a garden studio/summerhouse or shed as the children grow. 

Garden Design Concept - Plan View

Designing gardens for families

The specifics and changing needs of family gardens make this a really interesting area of design.

In a recent article on family gardens,  Charlotte Harris gives some helpful advice:

‘The best family gardens are practical and enjoyable for everyone who shares them, including adults and wildlife, without a hard division between ‘adult’ and ‘child’ areas instead there is just a gradient of use.’

‘As with any garden brief, it’s important to understand what the younger members of the family are interested in, and to unpick and understand what lies behind them.  Their suggestions often reflect a desire for experiences rather than literal structures, which in turn can open up a more creative, achievable and flexible garden design approach.’

Gardens Illustrated, July 2025 

I have also found it useful to refer to The Well Gardened Mind, by Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist and gardener Sue Stuart Smith.  This is a brilliant book and explores how gardens provide the perfect environment for mindfulness and a safe space to be in the present moment. As Smith writes, gardens provide the opportunity to play, relax and connect with nature, with our children, with ourselves and each other. 

July 2024 Sketchbook; taking inspiration from Swedish birches and meadows. I find sketching a useful way of collecting ideas through drawings as a resource for garden design.