A few pebbles threaded on a frayed, weathered string, triggered the inspiration for this tiny courtyard garden. My client had picked them up from a beach in Suffolk where the grasses on the sand dunes billow in the sea wind. The crumbly old brick wall cried out for weathered and aged materials to be used. Searching in a reclaim centre, I found an ancient Bordeaux oak for the raised beds and used reclaimed decking to give it a weathered look and create the impression that the garden had been there for years. The gnarled knots in the oak and the irregular heights of the raised beds allude to sea-battered groins in this weathered look garden design.

A simple sea blue ceramic urn provides a soothing trickling sound and looks wonderful when lit up at night. The maritime feel of this weathered look is finished off with a pebble channel around the decking and the stipa tenuissima grasses mimic the shimmering grasses on the dunes.