Refined Landscapes Wins BALI National Landscape Award for Buckhurst Hill Garden

Refined Landscapes was delighted to be awarded a 2025 BALI National Landscape Award for its Private Residence in Buckhurst Hill project.

The garden was recognised in the Domestic Garden Construction – Between £100k and £250k category, celebrating the quality, detail and delivery behind a ground-breaking residential landscape.

For the Refined team, this award is a proud milestone. It recognises not only the finished garden, but the construction control, problem-solving and craft that shaped the project from brief to completion.

The Buckhurst Hill garden brings together many of the qualities that define Refined’s approach to garden design and build: structure, softness, technical precision, material detail, outdoor living and a finished atmosphere that feels immersive rather than overly formal.

A ground-breaking residential garden shaped by the brief

The client’s brief was to transform the existing garden into a space full of visual interest while maintaining a natural, organic feel.

The garden needed to work hard. It had to include a generous seating terrace for entertaining, a usable all-weather route to the gym studio at the rear of the garden, and a jacuzzi with an outdoor media wall. At the same time, the client wanted the finished space to feel well integrated with the existing landscape, rather than rigid or overdesigned.

That balance became central to the project.

This was not a garden built around one feature. It was a complete residential landscape, designed and constructed so that entertaining, movement, wellness, planting and year-round use could sit together naturally.

Turning awkward geometry into a defining feature

One of the most important challenges on the project was the geometry of the site.

The original garden included a central lawn, a rectangular terrace and mature planting along the boundaries. However, the gym studio and garden boundaries were not square to the house, making spatial planning more complex.

Rather than fight against those angles, the design introduced flowing, organic forms that helped soften the inconsistencies and create a more natural sense of movement through the garden.

Curved paddlestone walls became one of the defining features of the scheme. They wrapped the new flagstone terrace, carved out distinct planting zones and broke up the straight lines of the existing paving and decking.

By pushing the seating terrace further into the garden, the design changed the experience of the space. The client was no longer simply looking out at the garden, but sitting within it.

Construction detail behind the finished garden

The BALI award is especially meaningful because it recognises the construction quality behind the finished garden.

A slightly raised decking boardwalk was introduced to lead visitors from the terrace to the gym studio, resolving existing ground levels while adding movement and architectural interest. The jacuzzi and outdoor media wall were framed with Taxus hedging on two sides, creating an intimate, room-like enclosure within the wider garden.

These details matter because they show how the project was not simply installed, but resolved.

The built elements had to support the way the garden would be used, while the planting and curved forms helped the whole space feel softer, more immersive and more refined.

A garden of this standard depends on decisions made long before completion: levels, drainage, hard landscaping, material junctions, access, lighting, planting, sequencing and the way each detail supports the next. Once complete, the garden should feel calm and natural. The work behind that calm is where the craft sits.

Solving the access challenge

The project also required careful logistical planning.

Because of the garden layout and narrow side access, the jacuzzi could not be brought through the property or around it at ground level.

To solve this, the team arranged a specialist crane lift to hoist the jacuzzi over the house and lower it safely into position within the garden. The lift required coordination with neighbours, careful planning and appropriate safety measures, allowing the client’s brief to be achieved without compromising the design or damaging the property.

This is exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes construction challenge that often disappears once a garden is finished. For us, it is part of the work: understanding the constraint, planning the solution and delivering the garden properly.

Walk through the award-winning Buckhurst Hill garden with Jacob Berry

Jacob Berry, our Founder & Director, recorded a three-part walkthrough of the finished garden. Each film gives a closer look at the garden, the construction detail and the thinking behind the completed space.

Featured in Pro Landscaper

The Buckhurst Hill project was also featured in the print edition of Pro Landscaper, giving the award-winning garden further industry recognition.

The May 2026 edition of Pro Landscaper offers a closer look at the project and the detail behind its delivery. Read the full Pro Landscaper feature.

What the award represents

This award is a celebration of the whole team behind the project.

A garden like Buckhurst Hill is not delivered through one decision or one moment of finish. It requires planning, communication, construction discipline, experienced project management and a shared understanding of the design intent.

It also reflects the importance of craft.

The quality of a garden is often held in the details: the edge that sits cleanly, the step that feels right underfoot, the material that meets another without tension, the planting that softens the built form, the lighting that supports atmosphere rather than overpowering it.

These are the details that make a garden feel refined.

A proud moment for Refined Landscapes

Winning a BALI National Landscape Award is an important milestone for the team and a proud recognition of the standards the team works to across its garden design and build projects. The team were delighted to be named in the 2026 awards too: read about Refined Landscapes’ win in the BALI National Landscape Awards for a second consecutive year.

The Buckhurst Hill garden stands as a strong example of what Refined aims to create: outdoor spaces that are technically well built, carefully detailed and deeply considered in the way they are lived in.

For clients considering a full garden design and build project, the award is a useful signal of the care, craft and control that sit behind the finished garden. To begin a conversation about your own project, start a conversation.