Originally designed as part of our JQ Loft Apartment project in Birmingham, Inner City Pocket Garden transformed an overlooked terrace into a secluded urban retreat.

Inspired by the landscaping of New York City’s High Line, this plot too, is located alongside an urban railway track. The aim was to create a softer, slower space for dining, gathering and unwinding amidst the surrounding industrial landscape.

Reclaimed scaffolding boards were laid to follow the angled geometry of the terrace, opening up nooks for integrated planting and perennial grasses. Working alongside Birmingham landscape designer Robert Colbourne, we developed a loose, textural planting scheme of ferns, grasses and hostas, softened further with Scottish cobbles.

Designed as a true extension of the adjoining living space, the terrace combined rust-toned powder-coated steel furniture, bespoke timber seating, and a separate lounge area framed by enormous crittall windows and red brick walls. Lighting became central to the atmosphere. Uplighting woven through the planting allows the terrace to shift beautifully by evening, glowing softly through the windows during darker winter months.

This year we’re revisiting the scheme once more, introducing a sauna and cold plunge as the next chapter in its evolution.