We were engaged to brighten the front of the house and to introduce a softer, warmer and more inviting entrance to a garden that had become tired and unwelcoming. We designed split slate retaining walls to create borders that flowed sinuously around the front garden, and used golden coloured gravel to lift the colour of the slate and to blend with the colour of the house walls. The borders were planted up with a natural composition of grasses, warm coloured perennials and strongly fragrant plants that allowed some privacy from the street beyond but created an inviting and welcoming passage to the front door.