Do you dream of transforming your small suburban garden into a personality-packed plot, a place you can relax and entertain to your heart's content, but you have no idea where to start! You'll find plenty of ideas here in Sarah Twigg Doyle and husband Gavin's garden glow-up...
When they bought their house 15 years ago, the garden was beyond basic. “It was mainly lawn with a makeshift patio that was a pile of unlevel aggregate concrete!” remembers Sarah. But the square plot functioned just fine as a place for their two children Olivia and Noah to play in, with swing sets the only structure bar a huge cherry tree. “So we did very little other than have pots around the patio,” Sarah says.
As the kids grew into teenagers and no longer used the garden as much, Sarah and Gavin saw their opportunity. “It seemed the right time to reclaim the garden for us,” smiles Sarah. “Plus the makeshift patio was breaking up and looking something of an eyesore and we hardly sat there as a result.”
As an interior stylist and colour consultant, Sarah had the creative skills to dream up her ideal garden space. Plus inspiration was close to hand. “I had just started using Instagram and was so inspired by some of the beautiful gardens on there. I knew we could recreate a little of that magic here,” she says. “And more and more I wanted growing space for flowers as my love of gardening increased.”
So five years ago, having saved funds for the project, the couple set to work. Motivation came from a nextdoor neighbour swapping the boundary fencing to a wall with adjacent outbuilding. “The wall was only pointed on their side and left our side looking very rudimentary,” explains Sarah. “The outbuilding also dominated our sight-line so we had to disguise it.”
BEFORE: Basic and uneven, the patio was crying out for some of Sarah’s creative magic!
AFTER: A dreamy parasol and hanging lanterns give the space peaceful hideout vibes.
Sarah & Gavin's boho suburban oasis garden plan
LOCATION Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland
THE LOOK Suburban oasis
SITE Size 14m2 Faces East Soil Imported topsoil on natural clay
OUR BUDGET
Landscaping €8,500
Timber to clad wall €300
Hinges/wheels for kitchen €50
Raised beds with soil/compost €500
Seeds Not much! Dahlia tubers €100
Spring bulbs €100
TOTAL: €9,550
HOW LONG IT TOOK
Landscaping 3 days
Wall 11/2 days
Building kitchen 2 weekends
Building patio table 1 weekend
Raised cutting beds 1 weekend
Planting Ongoing
Total: 121/2 days plus!
Their goal was straightforward. “I knew we wanted the garden to have two functions,” says Sarah. “A relaxing area to feel like an outdoor living room, an extension of the inside, and a growing space for me to indulge my love of flowers with a small cutting garden.”
But there were challenges to overcome. A tricky set of steps separated house and garden, creating a barrier between inside and out. “Our timber-framed house sits on a concrete slab and we wanted to raise the level of the garden to sit with flush with the slab,” explains Sarah. It made sense to keep the patio in its current position, but upgrade with paving and a path to the garden studio, added years before when the couple shifted to working from home.
Sarah engaged local landscaping company Aaron Paving to help. “They were incredibly good and so patient with me while I translated what was in my head to them. We walked round the garden and sketched out the design on the ground with builders’ marking spray!” she laughs.
Plans agreed, the landscaping team got to work, raising the garden in line with the house, paving the patio and path, and adding a second small patio outside the studio, in just three days. “The team were so efficient!” says Sarah.
And there had to be plenty of space for plants: “We designed an L-shaped bed that hugged the corner of the patio as a way of creating shelter and interest with planting.” The split-trunk cherry tree survived the makeover on account of its beauty, with a practical solution incorporating it into the new space. “At the back of the garden where the grass never grew properly because of the tree, we decided to use slate shingle,” explains Sarah.
DIY garden ideas
With the groundworks eating up most of their budget, Sarah and Gavin mucked in to do the rest themselves. To hide the ugly wall, they fixed horizontal wooden battens to the blocks then attached tall vertical timber fence panels. “There was very little budget left for fancy furniture, so we made our own initially out of pallets,” says Sarah.
“During lockdown with more time on our hands, we made a free-standing outdoor kitchen for the barbecue to sit on using reclaimed timber sourced for free from my father-in-law’s work shed, and lockable wheels so it was easy to move and clean behind. We also made a patio dining table with an Aztec design I’d seen on Instagram.”
An outdoor rug made the patio feel like home and solar festoon lights added sparkle on dark evenings.
The space has continued to evolve. “Last year we added more raised beds for a cutting garden, painting all the beds off-black as well as the garden studio,” says Sarah. “The whole process has happened very organically and has already changed so much. Pinterest has been a great resource and tapping in ‘small city gardens’ gave me lots of inspiring ideas. Instagram played a huge part too, seeing accounts with outdoor terraces that felt very much like the inside outside.”
What plants are good for boho style?
The planting has also changed over time as Sarah became a more confident gardener. “Now we have many pollinator-friendly plants like lavender, roses, foxgloves and astrantia, and down one side of the garden there’s a cotoneaster hedge, which we planted from cuttings from Gavin’s parents’ garden. In late spring when it flowers, it’s a hive of bee activity. And it’s important to me to garden as organically as possible, so not using pesticides and trying to source from local nurseries.”
Sarah’s latest obsession is the wonderful world of dahlias. “I confess they’ve become something of an addiction!” she laughs. “They are most definitely the divas of the garden and not without their work to keep, but they reward you with the most insanely beautiful flowers.”
That big cherry tree does create a tricky planting spot, but Sarah has found hydrangeas are the solution. And further trial and error to find the perfect planting answer is on the cards. “We planted climbers along the timber-clad wall and, though I love the smell of the honeysuckle, it’s become a bit of a nuisance and possibly needs a rethink,” says Sarah.
Of course, this garden and its relaxing boho vibe will continue to evolve, and plans are afoot for its future. “We talked about a glazed pergola over the patio area to allow sunshine through but add shelter,” says Sarah. “And our children have been campaigning for a pizza oven!”
Garden retreat
All the hard work has been well-rewarded, and the plot is now an oasis of loveliness. “It’s a haven to relax in, to garden in, to nurture my soul,” smiles Sarah. “I love being able to look out from the house and see the space turned from what looked like a makeshift afterthought into a proper grown-up space to feel proud of.
“I love it all but I love the patio area the most, probably because we looked out at the broken concrete for such a long time before! Sitting in our dining space looking out of the patio doors, what’s reflected looks like our home, a relaxed and welcoming space. Friends have commented that relaxing in the garden is like sitting in our living room, but outside.”
The family use their outside space so much more since its reinvention. Noah is now 18 and Olivia 14, so family time together is all the more precious. “Some of my favourite memories are of evenings lighting the firepit, toasting marshmallows with the kids, sitting listening to music and just enjoying being outside,” says Sarah. “And let’s face it, Irish summers can be unpredictable, so on warm days you have to make the most of them!”
The garden has become Sarah’s hideout too. “It’s where you’ll find me if I need some headspace to quieten my mind after a busy day,” she smiles. “And it’s so easy now – I can grab a good book and some cushions as soon as the sun is out.
"I find gardening very therapeutic, and it’s great for my mental health. When I’m overwhelmed with the to-do list, Gavin gently nudges me to get out in the garden. I’ll put my headphones on and listen to a good playlist, usually singing at the top of my voice as I weed and deadhead. And my small cutting garden brings me so much satisfaction.
"There’s nothing so rewarding as styling a vase of flowers you’ve grown yourself, and I try to bring a posy of flowers as a gift when I visit friends. To know they are homegrown is just the best feeling.”
How to start a boho oasis garden
Here's what Sarah and Gavin did...
1 of 4The digger’s in and it’s time to say goodbye to that boring lawn!
2 of 4Beds are built from wooden sleepers, which also serve to zone the space.
3 of 4The paving is laid, with a curving path to the new patio outside the garden studio.
4 of 4Topsoil is brought in to improve the clay soil and the raised beds filled. Ta-dah!
Sarah’s tips for an autumn garden
✽ Make your space multifunctional – we added a dining table to a seating set, and move it around as needed.
✽ Shelter your seating space. We used taller fence panels, but a screen or slatted pergola would work too.
✽ You can’t have too many solar lanterns, and they make the garden look inviting from inside for zero effort.
LED candles are brilliant for hygge vibes. Ours are remote controlled so it’s easy to switch them all off.
✽ Flowers bring your patio to life even if the rest of your plot is a bit bare. Sedum, cyclamen, violas and heather all bring a lovely pop of colour right now.
Bring on the boho: Tactile fabrics, terracotta-tone petals and lanterns galore make this laidback outdoor living space a welcome retreat
1 of 10A spot to linger under the cherry tree.
2 of 10Time to switch off the phone, soak up the sun and recharge those batteries!
3 of 10The DIY Scaffold-board topped kitchen is an alfresco cook’s delight.
4 of 10Solar lights suspended from tension wire bring the magic as night falls.
5 of 10Even Freddie’s catnaps are a stylish affair.
6 of 10Layered textures and artful accents transform the dining area into a warm and inviting master-piece.
7 of 10A warm-toned backdrop brings the heat even when the temperature drops.
8 of 10Why add a vase of blooms when you can go for a bold and beautiful bowlful?!
9 of 10Happiness is… freshly plucked dahlia blooms…
10 of 10…to bring garden joy indoors as well.
Smart Ideas to steal
✽ Cosy-up your patio with an outdoor rug.
✽ Fix decor on your fence for an interiors feel.
✽ String lanterns on festoons over your seating area.
Join Sarah for more garden bliss on Insta @retwiggdstylist
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