This wind-resilient garden design wraps around the home in a unified layout that celebrates natural materials and thoughtful structure. Created for an active, plant-loving couple, the garden uses wooden railway sleepers and reclaimed materials to shape a cohesive, durable space that enhances outdoor living while offering vital protection from the wind. Designed with sustainability and beauty in mind, it brings together shelter, sculpture, and seasonal planting to create an immersive and functional retreat.

The rustic character of weathered railway sleepers underpins the aesthetic. Used vertically, they introduce rhythm and movement to the garden, while helping to slow wind and define space without the need for heavy built features. Reclaimed granite setts and grey bricks add visual depth and grounding, while silver granite paving links spaces in a way that reflects the natural ageing of materials. Sculptural features in verdigris bronze lend colour, movement, and elegance, echoing the winds and skies of the surrounding landscape.

Planting plays a critical role in creating shelter and interest throughout the year. Carefully layered shrubs and trees form natural windbreaks, protecting the more delicate areas and enhancing privacy. A greenhouse provides a sheltered environment to support vegetable growing and stands as a practical and aesthetic focal point. Plant selection celebrates both resilience and beauty — ornamental grasses add movement, while climbing ivy cultivars bring texture and vertical repetition to upended sleepers. Themed rooms, from summer flowering shrubs, to autumn coloured trees and perennials, allow for a diverse yet coherent plant palette to thrive across the site.

Circulation is designed for ease and flow, with cut railway sleepers guiding the route through grassy paths that connect each room and focal point. Security is subtly integrated using dense, thorny boundary planting that adds another layer of wind protection without compromising light. This garden balances strength and softness, inviting exploration while providing sanctuary from the elements. It reflects a design ethos that respects both the challenges of the site and the passions of the people who live there