Urban EDEN

When the owner of this garden in Highgate, London, first saw it, he was struck by two things. First was its size: at 23m x 23m at its widest points, by London standards it is relatively large. And second was the stillness. “At the time, it was simply laid to lawn, with just a couple of overgrown shrubs,” he recalls, “and there was hardly any wildlife at all. No birds, no butterflies – nothing.”

He and his wife quickly decided that this must change, and when their architects proposed a large kitchen extension overlooking the garden, they commissioned Declan Buckley to take on the job of remodelling the outside space. “We wanted something with wow factor,” says the owner. “Something full of colour and wildlife and vibrancy. The house feels