Garden design case study~ a large rural garden.

 

I designed this garden a couple of years ago and took these photos recently when the clients invited me over for lunch to see how it had developed. 

They moved into their house five years ago and having worked hard to make the house look lovely and wanted the garden to look equally good.
There are usually existing features to work round in any garden and in this case a garden building had already been installed and a swimming pool ordered.

It’s quite a large garden but there wasn’t anything inviting you to walk round the garden or to explore the space.

 The new design creates areas, each with their own distinctive atmosphere, they’re partially screened, but flow into each other.
There were some practiical issues to sort out as well, the existing terrace didn’t have any access down onto the lawn, so nice, wide steps were built and flanked either side by lollipop shrubs to indicate the way into the garden. A crisply clipped hedge was planted around the terrace to link the space to the garden and define the shape.

 

Now there’s a smart, even lawn and a large new border that divides the garden. It’s planted with evergreen shrubs for structure, alliums and tulips in the spring, but mostly tall grasses and perennials to give glimpses through to the rest of the garden.

The end section of the garden has a more informal woodland feel to it that’s emphasised by the type of plants and a small grass roofed building.
There’s also a small kitchen garden, manly for herbs and salad vegetables.

The garden building has had it’s small deck extended and cantileveres over a new pond, so it looks more settled into the garden.

Front garden, the Drive before:

The Drive after:

The gravel Drive has been extended to make more space for parking and is shaped into a sweeping curve. It’s constructed with a clever honeycomb base that keeps the grave in place and allows you to walk on it in heeled shoes without sinking into it.

The clients love their garden now and enjoy using it, and that makes me happy too.

Jill

images: Jill Anderson