When she’s not busy designing homes, launching a sell-out lighting range with Plank Hardware or sharing viral Instagram reels of her spectacular potted basil (read her basil-growing how-to), interiors expert Leanne Kilroy (goodbonesshop.com) can usually be found in the garden. She relishes every moment here, not only because it’s a gloriously green oasis, complete with dedicated corners for lounging and entertaining, but because she recalls a time when this plot was essentially just a ‘gravel and cement pit’.
The glow-up required endless research, clever budgeting and a roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic. But now, with fragrant jasmine spooling across fences and arches, as well as blowsy English roses lining the beds, it’s no wonder that the garden draws Leanne and her family outside so often.
The before
‘It was rough! The garden was just a pit with falling-down fences, weeds and diseased trees, as well as a cemented area in the back.’
The plan
After Leanne had extended her kitchen and installed floor-to-ceiling windows, she knew they needed a mesmerising view. ‘I wanted a really classic English garden with Yorkstone pavers and traditional edging stones, but following a large renovation indoors, we didn’t have a big budget. I knew I had to make some compromises,’ she says.
However, Leanne still achieved her vision – that of ‘a space to play, eat and relax in the middle, surrounded by abundant greenery, roses and evergreen climbers’.
The process
Apart from the professionals who laid the inexpensive sandstone pavers and installed Leanne’s ‘beloved’ wire arch, she and her husband – along with some initial help from their Ukrainian house guests – tackled most of the work themselves. ‘We removed the gravel by hand, replaced the tumbling fences, stained them and installed railway sleepers on one side. I even DIY-ed a simple wire trellis along two sides of the garden.’
Fortuitously, a neighbour donated some classic blue edging stones, allowing them ‘a little bit of a traditional English garden after all’.
Leanne savours her triumphs: the jasmine that ‘provides an incredible, fast-growing, evergreen wall cover’ and ‘six different David Austin climbing roses that bring so much joy’.
Her outdoor furniture – tailored, sophisticated pieces built to last – was equally successful. A keen host and cook, Leanne chose a dining set from Neptune with summer entertaining written all over it. ‘The Harmondsworth table from Neptune is beautiful but also big enough to fit lots of people for dinner,’ she adds.
Biggest challenge
‘I made lots of rookie mistakes (ie trying to paint the fences rather than stain them), and digging out the beds – which were rocky and full of old tree stumps – was utterly exhausting.’
Biggest splurge
‘The sofa by Suns Lifestyle, but it's huge, luxurious and just incredible.’
Design hero
‘The wire arch from Harrod Horticultural looks incredible. I planted a mature jasmine at one end three years ago and it’s already completely covered!’
Sourcebook
- Table, Neptune
- Parasol, Plia Parasols
- Roses, David Austin Roses
- Plant pot, Gardenesque
- Pavers, London Stone
- Fence stain, Cuprinol
- Solar-powered lights, Next Home
