Step by step

Gardening on a shady slope can be a challenge but for David McFarline it was an opportunity to create a lush, multi-layered sanctuary for his family and wildlife

- WORDS SONYA PATEL

When David McFarline and his family moved into their 1960s home in 2018, the shady, sloping garden was just rubble and weeds. Turning it into a manageable wild-style garden was clearly going to take time and creativity. But with advice from a landscape designer, David has created a three-tier, green oasis that ties in beautifully with the Modernist-style house. There are areas for dining, children's play and watching wildlife, plus space to potter with plants among the concrete-boarded walls and steps. It's now a tranquil, subtly shifting sanctuary for the whole family.

How big is your garden?

The garden is 5m wide, which is the same as the width of the house. It goes back about 14m to the rear fence where the shed is located, with most of the garden on a slope.

How long have you lived here?

We moved here in December 2018, initially focusing on the inside of the house. Work on the garden began in 2021 and it took about three years to create the vista you see now.

What was your garden like when you moved in?

When we arrived, there was a huge poplar at the back, where the shed now stands. The garden had a slow gradient from front to back with a few basic steps, but it was mostly filled with ivy, weeds and building rubble from previous construction work. It was quite messy and overgrown and needed a boundary fence on the right-hand side.

What have you done to create your garden?