A small garden

This simple design is for a small garden of seven metres by seven metres.  Clipped box hedging helps to delineate the space, and forms a permanent structure around which further planting of perennials, ferns and, in the sunny spots, grasses, is arranged.  Rather than cram lots of features into this space, there is one main element to the design - a table of cedar cantilevered out of a two-metre diameter raised planter in brick.  The tree intended for this, the small snakebark maple Acer grosserii var. hersii, will provide the necessary light shade and establish the overhead plane, while the bellying sweep of the gravel allows the surrounding planting to conceal and shelter the dining area.  The timber structures supported out of the planter also contribute to this sheltering, and, with the hedging and bare branches of the trees, provide structure and interest in the winter season.