When designing your garden layout, people automatically think about the horizontal and vertical planes - that’s your planting, paving, perhaps some steps, walls and fences but there is a third plane which is equally important - the overhead plane. 

While many people lean towards a pergola or covered outdoor dining area, there is more to the overhead plane than creating new functional zones. In lots of urban gardens, there may not be room for a large overhead structure, and this is where we can get more creative with the overhead plane. In this post I’ll talk about why it’s such an important element of design and how you can incorporate it in both small and large gardens. 

Firstly, why is the overhead plane so important?

Balance, Perspective and Depth 

I recently attended a consultation for a lovely rural garden in North Essex. It was long, fairly wide and completely open apart from a few small trees and a surrounding low native hedgerow. What struck me initially was that the garden and house felt dwarfed by the openness of the site. There were incredible views across paddocks and woodland in the distance, but the foreground lacked a focal point and it felt like the garden and its surroundings were not part of the same landscape. It lacked a sense of balance, perspective and depth that some well placed overhead interest would add. How and where you add this is important and I’ll cover this in a separate journal post, but by introducing some strategically placed and appropriately sized trees, shrubs and arbours you can add a sense of depth, perspective and connection to the borrowed landscape. 

Enclosure and privacy 

Let's start with privacy as this is something I hear in every single brief I receive as a garden designer. This is largely due to the fact that houses are being built in much closer proximity than before, even in rural areas, and the overwhelming solution I see in most gardens seems to be a combination of fencing panels and laurel hedge. I have nothing against laurel or fencing, but it makes for a fairly one dimensional, dull privacy screen. It also doesn’t really live up to the task if your neighbours live in a two storey or more house as they can see right over a hedge from their upstairs windows. This is where you really need to introduce a three dimensional approach in the use of structures like pergolas (preferably in conjunction with climbing plants) and trees. Not only does this provide privacy but also a sense of enclosure. 

Enclosure and privacy are not one and the same thing but they do go hand in hand. Creating a partially enclosed space naturally provides a level of privacy. Other than those who suffer from claustrophobia, we tend to seek out and create spaces that have a sense of enclosure. From an evolutionary perspective its thought that it makes us feel safe, an enclosed space bridges the gap and provide a buffer between us and the vast awesomeness of the natural world. The level of enclosure really depends on your brief, aesthetic preferences and the site. 

Shade & light 

For me, the introduction of shade and ability to play with light is one of the most exciting aspects of the overhead plane for both practical and aesthetic reasons. 

For a number of years I rented a South-West facing townhouse in a new development in London. The garden was small, overlooked and there was no overhead coverage making for an overlooked space that was unusable and inhospitable on a hot summer’s day. We had to keep the curtains closed and the interior of the house got up to above 50°C on a number of occasions. As a rental property (without any outside water supply and soil depth of under 400mm before you hit hardcore or concrete - all of which is mind-boggling but sadly common in new developments) we were limited in what we could do to provide shade. In an ideal world, I would have planted a one or two specimen trees that could withstand the extreme heat of summer and wet of winter - Catalpa bignoniodes Aurea would have been my choice as it can be kept small and likes the intensity of full sun. Trees really are excellent at mitigating seasonal heat gains and losses inside your home and, therefore, are much more environmentally sound option compared to a static structure. 

That covers the functional aspect of shade in a garden, and now for the aesthetic. Have you ever wandered through a wooded area or laid under a tree in a park on a sunny day? The way the light falls through the leaves and dances on the ground is magical, especially when accompanied by the sound of a light breeze in the leaves. Moreover, you don’t need acres of garden to achieve this feeling, with the right positioning and planting, you can also achieve this on a smaller scale or even with smart planting over a pergola or arbour. 

What can you do about it in your garden?

• Plant a tree. Depending on your garden size, aspect and location there will be multiple options to suit your needs.

• Think about scale in relative terms. The overhead should be in proportion to the width and length of your garden to create a pleasing aesthetic.

• Pergolas, arbours and growing arches come in all styles and sizes, not just square or rectangular. The word arbour conjures up images of cottage-style gardens but there are some excellent modern or sculptural examples on the market these days. Pair them with clever planting in the form of bushy, evergreen climbers. One of my favourites is Clematis Armandii.

Lucie Dutton Design is a UK-based garden design studio located in Saffron Walden and operating in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Greater London. If you’re interested in working together then please do contact me.