Cookney
The Terra Foras inspiration garden.
We’re delighted to have the space at our home base in Cookney, Aberdeenshire, as a place to inspire us, to experiment, and to showcase to our clients what’s possible in a garden environment.
"Gardens are where we put pieces in the right places and let nature be the artist."
Adam Forbes of Terra Foras
This large plot surrounding a family home was once a traditional garden with large sections of lawn and visible tarmac for parking areas. Now it’s an ever-evolving space with an orchard, a rewilded section, wildlife pond, a meadow and space for family socialising too with a fire pit, a patio, as well as long-term plans for a glasshouse and further “trial and error” spots.
This outdoor spot is an absolute mecca for wildlife. While chickens and ducks love living on the land, bees, tadpoles, butterflies and other insects are drawn to the logpile house, the prairie-style plants, the meadow, the heritage fruit trees in the orchard, and the rewilded sections.
What we love about this garden as a design team is the chance to try out materials so we can recommend for our client projects. Self-binding gravel paths, corten edging, different slab materials, natural planting, a screened driveway, and adjusting height levels are all things that have been added to the space in recent years.
A lot of work has gone into thinking how to create a stronger flow around the property – something we spend a lot of time discussing with clients at the start of projects. Visual spots have been created; work has taken place to draw the eye away from the garage and annexe; we also restructured the parking area; and thought was taken to create a more user-friendly journey to the property’s front door.
We love taking an explore around the sprawling garden space with clients. If you’re thinking of providing a home for wildlife, or want to see different materials in situ, let’s arrange a trip to Cookney as part of our garden design discussions to give you lots of inspiration and create excitement for what is possible in your home’s environment.
"When we returned to Aberdeen from London after twenty two years, we left behind a really nice garden which we had developed once the kids stopped playing football. While we liked our new house very much, the garden was a major disappointment. It was a small town plot, which we couldn’t change.....
"We needed to undertake a major overhaul of our garden once our house was built. We did not really have a ‘vision’ and needed someone with the expertise in both design and knowledge of flora and fauna.....
"When we contacted Terra Foras our city centre back garden was overgrown, uneven, difficult to keep on top of and lacked a decent seating area. It was desperately needing a makeover on a big scale, so we knew we needed to get the professionals in.....
“Our garden was looking uncared for due to the structure of the garden making it difficult. It wasn't suitable to give our children the freedom to play in it with some features making it unsafe. We also didn’t have the time needed, to maintain it properly as it was.....
"It was Terra Foras’s design led approach and innovative thinking that attracted us to them. We hoped the garden redesign would create a visually exciting and very useable external space. This has, without question, been achieved.....
"When we returned to Aberdeen from London after twenty two years, we left behind a really nice garden which we had developed once the kids stopped playing football. While we liked our new house very much, the garden was a major disappointment. It was a small town plot, which we couldn’t change.....
"We needed to undertake a major overhaul of our garden once our house was built. We did not really have a ‘vision’ and needed someone with the expertise in both design and knowledge of flora and fauna.....
"When we contacted Terra Foras our city centre back garden was overgrown, uneven, difficult to keep on top of and lacked a decent seating area. It was desperately needing a makeover on a big scale, so we knew we needed to get the professionals in.....
“Our garden was looking uncared for due to the structure of the garden making it difficult. It wasn't suitable to give our children the freedom to play in it with some features making it unsafe. We also didn’t have the time needed, to maintain it properly as it was.....
"It was Terra Foras’s design led approach and innovative thinking that attracted us to them. We hoped the garden redesign would create a visually exciting and very useable external space. This has, without question, been achieved.....
See what’s possible for your garden
We just have to hope Aberdeenshire gives us a good weather day, so we can have an unhindered explore around the grounds.