VaRa Garden Design is an award-winning collaboration between garden designers Vanessa Hoch and Rachel Pocock. A friendly and creative studio, VaRa brings wonderfully crafted gardens to life, specialising in residential projects of all sizes in Hertfordshire and the surrounding counties. With a high level of skill, creativity and attention to detail, the pair thoroughly enjoy working with their clients throughout the process.
Taking inspiration from their clients’ brief along with their interior taste and style, and from the surrounding landscape and existing garden features, VaRa delivers gardens that enhance a space from both indoors and out.
The pair work collaboratively with landscapers, architects and other specialist contractors to source interesting materials and finishes. With a passion for planting, they ensure that at the heart of every garden there are seasonal highlights and year-round textural presence to create beautifully balanced and welcoming spaces.
"We deliver considered and stylish contemporary designs, creating welcoming spaces to be immersed in all year round, paying particular attention to plants, materials and products that work harmoniously in their environment."
Please describe a recently completed project or tell us about the bespoke service that you offer
"Our clients' garden in Cuffley was on a sharp gradient with little to no flat areas for dining or relaxing. Listening to their brief, and how they wanted to use the garden, we devised a concept that replaced their sloped lawn with spacious platforms (all surrounded by lush planting) leading from a wide dining patio. Our new design not only provides them with a much more usable (and arguably beautiful) space, but also completely opens out their view from the house.
Built on a steep incline, we designed generous platforms and stone steps, all retained by Corten and copper slate cladding, to lead you gently through the garden with lots of spaces to stop along the way. A cedar-clad studio at the top of the garden provides an all-weather space from which to relax and enjoy the new view; lush planting gives year-round interest, texture and colour, with some lovely highlights for each season, from spring right through to winter. Ambient lighting provides a lovely glow, highlighting structural trees and sculptures, as well as inviting you through the space, whilst two water features - one at the top and one at the bottom of the garden - provide a lovely soothing sound to be enjoyed wherever you are in the garden. Finally, we installed a specially commissioned sculpture called 'Resilience' by Jill Clarke Design to give punctuation to this urban oasis."
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