Location: Prague
Project: 2021
Build: 2022
Photography: Zuzana Stiborková
The garden of a terraced family house in the quiet Prague’s Ořechovka district is very small. However, still provides everything a young family needs. There is a large enough grass area where the kids can kick football or play other games. A small swimming pool, just big enough to provide the family with somewhere to cool down on a hot summer day and children to enjoy water games. Thanks to a retracteable wooden terrace, the garden view is not disturbed by unsightly pool cover.
A grey painted wooden garden house next to the pool and a fence ensure complete privacy from the street view as well as protecting the garden from being overseen by the neighbours. The garden house fits everything you need, pool technology as well as bikes and toys for children.
The opposite side of the garden benefits from a large flower bed with a multi-stem golden rain tree framing the view from the house to the garden and popular serviceberry shrubs. There is also a bird fountain in the form of a corten bowl and bird feeders suspended from tree branches. The outdoor terrace provides enough space for a large dining table, comfortable sofa and is shaded by a retractable canopy in the summer. The wooden decking is smooth and comfortable to walk on even barefoot. The minimalistic light-colour furniture from company Todus together with canopy over the terrace blends beautifully with the light rendering and clean lines of the house.
The perennial flower bed in front of the terrace rises to the opposite short slope ending the garden. The original yew trees and shrub screening from the neighbours provide a pleasant private space for a small garden shed, a swing bench, and a secret place for kids’ play under a shelter of an old tree. The access is by narrow brick steps and the slope is covered with a colorful mixture of perennial bulbs and ornamental grasses. The garden changes beautifully throughout the seasons and there are raspberries, currants and wild strawberries to pick up when in season. In the evening, the garden is completely transformed thanks to mood lighting shining through the leaves of grasses and shrubs.
The small front yard, although intended for parking family cars, is paved with grass paving slabs for more eye-pleasing effect and not to resemble a parking lot. The front garden looks elegant and cosy thanks to planting a variety of hydrangeas and ornamental multi-stemmed cherry trees. In the spring an outstanding spectacle of the cherry tree blossom can be seen from the kitchen window as well as the trees shading the views into the house for the rest of the year.
The main entrance is located on the side of the house. This is more shaded part of the garden, where fused hornbeams provide a pleasant atmosphere and plenty of privacy.
Although the garden is very small, it offers many different corners and private spaces for hanging out, as well as for children to play. During the summer, the life of the family moves out of the house and into the garden, and there is nothing missing to spend time enjoyably.