The Shared Spaces Family Garden – Easy Steps to Dream Gardens

About the Designer

Nicola Haines trained as an architect at the Bartlett School in London before studying horticulture with the RHS. She is a member of the Garden & Landscape Designers Association and designs both public and private gardens, from small courtyards to large estates. Nicola is passionate about design as a way to connect people to nature.

Nicola won a gold medal and Best in Category Award for the joint design of the UCD Evolution of Land Plants Garden at Bord Bia Bloom 2016 and another gold medal with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for the Fernhill ‘An Exercise in Sustainability’ Garden in 2018.

Garden Overview

Originally designed by Nicola Haines for Bord Bia’s Easy Steps to Dream Gardens, this garden has been created for a family with teenagers and young adults but can be tailored to suit any household. The garden design is simple, with three distinct spaces that can be reformatted and customised as your lifestyle changes. It comprises a series of layers with planting in the foreground, mid-ground and background to give a sense of privacy and create interest from the house.

Closest to the house the space features a table and chairs for outside dining, edged with a raised bed with grasses and perennials as a screen. Vegetable beds divide this area from a relaxed seating area at the rear – an ideal space for teenagers to gather. A pergola gives an additional sense of privacy and serves as a mount for a hanging chair.

Find more on Easy Steps to Dream Gardens here.