Garden on land with an unusual typology

This new house is situated 2 metres below road level. By making the most of the walls surrounding the garden, the landscape designer succeeded in creating a pleasant atmosphere despite the unusual layout of the property.

Project challenges

The owner of this new house was very satisfied with the architect's design. Only one thing bothered him: the house is built 2 metres below the road and surrounded by high walls. He therefore called on a landscape designer to arrange the garden, so as to help him forget that he was going to “live facing concrete walls”.

The landscape designer used numerous techniques to animate these walls, minimise the feeling of being enclosed, and break the monotony. The result is a great demonstration that it is possible to create a pleasant garden in harmony with the house it surrounds, even on a challenging plot.

Dressing the walls with textures and colours

The landscape designer played with colours and materials to brighten up a particularly mineral architecture. To warm up the atmosphere, he decided to install a terrace and wooden panels on certain walls.

Another wall is covered with orange powder-coated metal panels, a bright shade that harmonises well with the grey tones of the house and the wood of the terrace. He chose ipé wood, which appears red when first laid but gradually turns grey over time.

Visually enlarging the space

To visually enlarge the space and create a sense of depth, mirrors were also installed. These mirrors, visible from the kitchen, blur the boundaries between interior and exterior.

Care had to be taken, however, with reflections that can scorch certain plants particularly sensitive to sunlight.

Concrete planters break up the linearity of the walls, create relief and bring vegetation at different levels.

Among the plants, you can find:

• Climbing plants, such as star jasmine and clematis,
• Crape myrtle, which has the distinctive feature of producing pinkish-purple blooms at the end of summer,
• Dwarf pittosporum, which stays small and round with evergreen, glossy leaves, and grasses to add lightness and movement.

A white sheet metal balustrade was custom-made. It shelters the garden from the view of passers-by, who would otherwise have a bird's-eye view. But as it is perforated, it allows light to pass through.

A minimalist garden mixing plants and minerals

To respect the very contemporary style of the house, the landscape designer created a zen, pared-back garden. For example, a small square of plants sits alongside a path in the middle of pebbles.

The landscape designer also chose few different plant species and a medium planting density, resulting in a regular and airy style.

As the house is glazed on three sides, the selected plants are predominantly evergreen. The garden remains pleasant all year round as the plants do not lose their leaves in winter. Beneath the staircase connecting the parking area to the house, you can find decorative alliums and angel hair grass.