Orwell Cottage

In amongst tall tenement buildings in Edinburgh’s Dalry district sits Orwell Cottage, a tiny, one bedroom Airbnb property with the smallest of garden spaces wrapped around it.  We were invited to turn this hopeless garden space into something special, partly to enhance the property but also as a gift to the neighbourhood and to brighten the day of passers-by.

To start, we stripped out layers of concrete blocks, tarmac, sand and rubble.

We then built up path levels, installed ducting for lighting cables and laid stone setts with polished black pebble details.

Also installed were reclaimed Yorkstone at the steps and thresholds.

The gate was moved and railings restored by Duddingston Forge.

The boundary wall was rendered in preparation for the street artists to do their work.

To give the garden a bit of privacy, we installed trellis panels above the wall and we also created borders for planting with hard-working plants, which perform well throughout the seasons.

Garden designed by Carolyn Grohmann of Secret Gardens Design.

Wall art by Phil Blake (Instagram @philthblake)