Designer Kate Gould is at Chelsea for the fourth time, this time in the Small Gardens (Urban) category, and her run of one silver and two gold medals (including two Best in Category awards) indicates that she's an old hand at packing a lot of ideas into a small space. Her sponsor Hartman, a specialist in outdoor wicker furniture, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and wanted a garden to emphasise the pleasure of sitting and enjoying the outdoors.

Well used to London clients who ask for exactly that - gardens for entertaining and relaxing, and not too much hard graft - Kate has created a green, intimate outdoor room with a touch of luxury and pizzazz.

Using an L-shaped sofa in two sections, a bespoke fireplace, a sculpture by Michael Speller and a water feature, Kate imagined the garden as a sunken, enclosed outdoor room behind a terraced town house. She chose a backbone of evergreen planting to look beautiful all year round - box hedging, an overhead "ceiling" of pleached hornbeam to enclose the space, and Trachelospermum jasminoides on the walls to form a green backdrop of scent and flowers.

"Low-maintenance planting doesn't have to be boring," says Kate. "I've tried to use restful and interesting textures, shapes and colours. I think it's important for clients to understand that colour from flowers doesn't have to be the main thing in a garden. And it's quite therapeutic, clipping box once a year."

A stylishly downplayed element of bling is located at the heart of the garden: comfortable wicker seating in chocolate is arranged around a bespoke fireplace. Constructed of polished cement and mirror-polished stainless steel, this deepens and reflects the surrounding green. And when seated facing the fire (gel-based, not gas), it is possible to look straight through the glass-encased flames at the water feature beyond. Subtle - but quite a show-stopper.

Plants include Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Greenapples', Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost', hellebores, hostas and ferns - all tolerant of light shade, and with flowers in the green, white and blue range. Kate also tackles the urban problem of water run-off - rainwater is fed into storage for a timed irrigation system and permeable paving is used throughout.

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