In a small garden every detail counts, and a bold design with few strong features works best. Here the owner wanted to keep the lawn but also wanted a shady seating area, some hedging and plants to screen the property from the back alley, and I suggested a raised border which would be visible from the house and frame the entrance to the garden. At the centre is a seating area on gravel carpet edged in fine local stone, shaded by fruitless Mulberries trained into a green roof, illuminated a night by highlighters set into the ground. The lawn is used as edging to offset the seating area and the side borders, a rich tapestry of roses and mixed herbaceous planting. In this elegant outdoor living room, the clear lines of the geometric design are softened by textured English-style planting in mediterranean-proof material. The entrance to the garden is flanked by raised borders in Corten steel, overflowing with grasses, herbs and ornamental Salvias.