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Private garden · Redhill, Surrey

Challenge with a Slope

A Contemporary Hillside Garden Where Architecture, Nature and Practical Design Come Together

A steep, overgrown garden in Redhill, Surrey, transformed into a series of inviting outdoor living spaces, designed around a striking architectural extension, mature trees and beautiful four-season planting.

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Made with

Jorges Salman ArchitectsExtension and full refurbishment of the house

All partners

From vision to reality

The garden was designed in photorealistic 3D before anything was built, so the clients could walk through it first. Here is that design beside the same view of the finished garden.

Photorealistic 3D design of the path and steps rising from the lawn between corten steel beds to the timber-clad extension — Designed in 3D

The garden seen from the lower lawn at sunrise, the brick path and stone steps rising between corten steel retaining walls to the timber-clad extension — The real gardenPhoto Martin Heath

Photorealistic 3D design of the pale steps between corten steel planters, with the pergola terrace to one side and the extension beyond — Designed in 3D

Pale stone steps between corten steel planters leading up to the terrace, with gaura and grasses flowering beside them — The real gardenPhoto Martin Heath

Photorealistic 3D design from above of the sunken terrace with its louvred pergola, the square water feature and the steps — Designed in 3D

The sunken terrace from above: dining table and chairs under the louvred pergola, pale porcelain paving and steps, and a corten bed of red hot pokers around a dark square water feature — The real gardenPhoto Charles Jackson

The Brief: Designing the House and Garden as One

When my clients purchased their tall, rather outdated house on a hillside in Redhill, they inherited a steeply sloping garden that had become heavily overgrown.

Fortunately, they started considering the garden early in their renovation plans, giving me the opportunity to approach the house, extension and landscape as one coherent design.

Architect Jorges Salman created an unusual, fan-shaped, cedar-clad extension, visually anchoring the tall building while adding a striking contemporary twist. However, its distinctive geometry created two different views into the garden, raising an interesting design question: which should become the main vista?

My clients wanted a contemporary, low-maintenance garden with year-round interest, outdoor dining, a water feature and flexible spaces for entertaining and relaxing.

The garden in summer from the top of the house: the porcelain terrace and pergola, a clay paver path across the lawn, and the garden room with its sedum roof at the far end under the trees — Photo Charles Jackson

Working with the Existing Landscape

Before designing the new layout, the overgrown garden needed to be carefully cleared to reveal its true potential and assess which existing plants were worth preserving.

I retained a beautiful handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata), an Acer with spectacular orange autumn foliage, and a magnificent mature Ginkgo biloba in the centre of the garden.

The ginkgo became the natural focal point of the design. By directing the main pathway and steps towards it, I created a strong visual connection between the contemporary extension and the landscape, bringing the different views together into one composition.

The whole garden from above, showing the lawn, the brick path, the planted terraces and the paved terrace beside the garden room, with an acer in autumn colour — Photo Martin Heath

Turning the Slope into an Opportunity

The approximately 1.2-metre level difference, combined with heavy clay soil, presented considerable technical challenges.

Rather than fighting the slope, I introduced a series of connected terraces, creating usable spaces for dining, entertaining and relaxing. Careful attention was given to consistent step heights, drainage, rebuilding suitable topsoil and making the garden comfortable and safe to navigate.

Retaining walls became an important architectural feature. I combined Adezz corten steel retaining systems with blockwork walls faced in corten-coloured DesignClad from London Stone, creating a cohesive material palette that complements the cedar extension.

To improve privacy, the metal pergola was positioned on a terrace lowered by approximately 60 centimetres, creating a more intimate outdoor dining area with a contemporary water feature.

At the bottom of the garden, a generous fire pit terrace offers a flexible entertaining space that can also accommodate an inflatable swimming pool in summer, while a separate garden room provides additional practical space.

Four-Season Planting, Designed for Everyday Life

As one of my clients looks after the garden herself, the planting needed to be beautiful without becoming demanding.

I combined resilient shrubs, flowering perennials and ornamental grasses to provide texture, movement and seasonal colour, while supporting pollinators and other wildlife.

The existing mature trees bring a wonderful sense of permanence, with the golden ginkgo and orange Acer becoming spectacular features in autumn.

The planting softens the strong architectural lines and creates a natural balance between contemporary materials and the surrounding landscape.

Pink gaura and blue fescue in the foreground, boulders on the lawn, white-stemmed birches and the dark garden room behind — Photo Charles Jackson

The Result: A Garden That Works with Its Challenges

What was once a steep, overgrown garden has become a collection of welcoming outdoor spaces, thoughtfully connected to the newly renovated house.

By considering the landscape alongside the architecture, preserving valuable mature trees and embracing the challenging levels, I created a garden that feels cohesive, practical and full of character.

The slope, once the property’s greatest challenge, became the very feature that gives the garden its individuality.

Every garden here started with a conversation.Book a free consultation

How I design About Kitti

Planting

Ginkgo bilobaCentre of the garden, kept
Handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata)Kept
AcerKept
Ornamental grasses
Flowering perennials

Gallery

A path of dark clay pavers edged with corten steel, with pale steps, running between the lawn and a border of rudbeckia, red hot pokers, catmint and grasses — Photo Charles Jackson

The paved upper terrace with its slatted pergola, dining table and corten-edged beds, and the aluminium water feature in a raised bed — Photo Martin Heath

The dining table under the pergola in low afternoon sun, looking out over the perennials to the trees beyond — Photo Charles Jackson

The Adezz aluminium water feature, a square basin with a single bubbling jet, among ornamental grasses and low perennials — Photo Martin Heath

Three boulders set into the lawn beside a white-stemmed birch, with the dark garden room and its planting behind — Photo Charles Jackson

Erigeron daisies spilling over the top of a corten steel retaining wall — Photo Martin Heath

A light well planted as a living wall of ferns, heucheras and grasses, seen through steel-framed glass doors from a room with a black leather chair and a red book — Photo Martin Heath

Ferns and lady's mantle growing in the shade beneath a timber-topped bench — Photo Charles Jackson

What my clients say

The clients of this garden
“Kitti's designs are beautiful! We fell in love with her ideas, drawings and can-do attitude from the start.”
Our project was complicated but they never gave up, always trying to find solutions. And at the end, Kitti gave us a complete plan of how to look after our garden, plants and trees in the future which is very helpful and completes the job nicely. We are very pleased with our garden and highly recommend Kitti and her team!
Natalia and Jon, Redhill
“Kitti is a rare designer in that she truly listens to her client.”
She took the time to understand our family's requirements and translated them into an original garden that went beyond what we had imagined. The finished garden gives us enjoyment throughout the seasons while remaining easy to maintain. Her creativity, enthusiasm and ability to recognise the potential in a space made a real difference to the final result.
Leena, AshteadGarden Hideaway
“Kitti guided us through a complex project with far more to it than we initially thought.”
Her design was inspired and refreshing, and she helped us find landscapers we could trust to bring it to life. Kitti remained involved throughout the project, offering advice and practical suggestions whenever they were needed. The finished garden exceeded our expectations, and we would happily recommend her to anyone considering a garden project.
Avril & Colin, Surrey

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