LANDSCAPE DESIGN IN COMPSTALL - STOCKPORT
As homeowners of a delightful semi-rural property in Stockport, our clients approached WM Design Studio looking for a transformative landscape design that would merge biodiversity, beauty, and practical living.
Our brief emphasised the need for sustainability, wildlife integration, and a balance between structured and informal garden zones. The project had to work with some existing features, including existing post and rail fencing, a pizza oven and multiple levels to the garden, whilst creating a cohesive outdoor space with several uses and habitats.
We delivered a comprehensive garden design, crafting a series of interconnected spaces tailored to seasonal interest, ecological richness, and the client’s lifestyle needs.
A signature feature of this garden is the deadwood ‘fedge’, a hybrid of traditional hedge-laying and stacked deadwood. This element acts as a natural boundary, encouraging habitat creation for insects and birds, while contributing to the rustic character of the garden.
A decorative, sculptural water rill channels rainwater from the roofline down into an extended wildlife pond, establishing a rain garden system that controls runoff while enhancing biodiversity. The tranquil sound of trickling water adds a contemplative ambiance and flow to this area of the garden.
An existing pizza oven was reimagined as the focal point of a casual entertaining area. The oven now takes pride of place within a small terrace, proving that sustainable design includes reusing existing materials with creativity.
To ease movement between different levels in this Stockport garden, informal boulder steps and boulder transitions lead from new French doors to an upper lawn and to a secondary contemplation area tucked among native planting. These naturalistic features blend seamlessly with the garden’s organic shapes, including a reclaimed local stone pillar and a curved local drystone wall with swale.
Drawing inspiration from the archetypal English cottage garden, a perennial cottage meadow full of nectar-rich flowers invites pollinators, while a cottage woodland meadow offers a wilder, quieter retreat.
To create privacy between our clients’ home and the neighbouring property, a pleached hedge was installed, offering year-round screening with a formal, structural appearance – a functional yet decorative form that respects both the aesthetic and secluded harmony of the garden.
A productive corner was dedicated to a vegetable growing and utility area, discreetly positioned to the side of the home.
A contemporary woodland combines soft fruit bushes, and a mini orchard, offering a low-maintenance foraging landscape that will evolve beautifully over time.
The front of the house features an extended gravel driveway for additional parking with a stone threshold, which marries with a modern cottage planting scheme to complement the naturalistic theme of the garden.
The completed garden now flows as a series of immersive spaces – from formal entry to wild retreat – all designed with purpose, habitat, and harmony in mind. The clients were thrilled with the transformation.
This case study highlights our commitment to ecological integrity and creativity for garden designs and landscape designs. Whether you’re looking for garden design in Stockport that focuses on sustainability, or a landscape design in Stockport that merges form with function, WM Design Studio provides tailored solutions rooted in nature and artistry.
Contact WM Design Studio today for your bespoke garden design in Stockport, and surrounding locations in the North West. Discover how your landscape can be reimagined to support biodiversity, reflect your lifestyle, and grow with you.