“Design a garden that doesn’t include pots, I have gardened in London with limited space for years. I want to embrace my horticultural knowledge but with an ease of maintenance. It is imperative that we can grow our own food including vegetables and fruit, this has been a dream for many years. We want to be be able to see the sunset over the farmers fields, I don’t want to see the road signs. I would like a tight colour palette when it comes to planting, I am keen on a cool palette with scent” Diane - is a designer at heart, a creative a client with a real passion for her garden. I think we became friends at the first consultation.
The Brief
Revitalised Barn
(In Progress)
Before
This was a new development, a farm turned into 4 new contemporary barns with black sealed cladding wit the addition of cedar and stone clad chimney stacks. The soil is clay and we bought in approx 50 tonnes of screened compost / topsoil mix to add intio this heavily machined soil.
There was soil removed to dig out for the beds and terraces, instead of moving it off site we decided to create a bank to offer some wind protection from the surrounding field and a little privacy from the farmers sheep and cows. This created a fabulous base for planting, with the nutrients from the clay, but the height to prevent the flooding.
I worked very closely with Diane and Stephen to ensure that everything included was aesthetically pleasing, with a city and countryside lifestyle it was so important to them to ensure this garden worked hard for them. A place to eat with friends and family, a heavily planted garden with height, trees, structure, fruit trees and uniformity in colour. Privacy was also important with a 27m open style fence between them and the neighbours which planning stipulated. We worked with this to ensure a 2.5m hedging was installed. The garden building was stained in black ash as a back drop to a couple of beautiful cherry trees Tibetan and The Bride, it lights up the copper bark and the blossom amazingly, this wasn’t a happy mistake - everything carefully considered to offer seasonal variety.
The poly tunnel carefully placed, has enabled the clients to cancel their Abel & Cole veggie box as they grow so much of their own food now, something they have wanted to do for a very long time, but struggled with space living in London.
The Approach
The clients have a beautiful garden making the most of every section, from a covered terrace to view the evening sunsets from, a terrace closer to the house broken up with planting beds. The bank created by not taking land off site offers wind protection and raises the profile of almost 30m of a cool palette of planting which is stunning though all seasons, the food they grow outweighs everything they wished for with a mix of raised beds and a poly tunnel. Their garden has certainly improved their lifestyle and enhanced their retirement and their health.
The Outcome
