A small section of a much larger communal garden was redesigned. The garden has pedestrian access along its boundary to another property so the main concern with the redesign was to create a level of privacy through natural screening.

The garden was mainly lawn, with an occasional flower border, and the area has been subtly transformed into a more private space. The access to the rear of the property is through the garden; this access was moved slightly to create relatively equal areas with the pathway between them, and thus balance the garden.

Screening was paramount and hornbeam was used in pleached and beehive forms to create privacy. Small Cercis trees were introduced in the middle of each area to help block out the wider landscape in the summer months when the space is used most. Taller flowering perrenials and grasses are interspersed between the hornbeams and small trees at the back of the borders, with smaller forms to the front and nearer the property. The garden now has balance without formality, and a sense of privacy but without seclusion.