This garden was designed with entertaining in mind. The professional couple often entertain needing a large dining terrace and space for a marquee for 50 people for parties. In its first year a stunning wedding was hosted in the grounds and the garden was much enjoyed giving some wonderful wedding photographs. A large dining terrace is connected by a series of steps, making the most of the incline, to a pergola giving scale to the garden and the surrounding high boundary hedges.
The garden sits in the New Forest. The couple did not want a traditional cottage garden. After much discussion it was decided to use a combination of plant types, particularly ornamental grasses to bring a wow factor to the garden. Garden varieties of heathland species such as moor grass and fox gloves ensure a soft transition into the garden and provide a very natural feel. As you progress deeper into the garden the balance of the planting flips to give a greater emphasis to cultivated varieties.
Ornamental grasses are used throughout the garden to create a gentle harmonious whole. The planting is fairly easy to look after, providing a much needed low maintenance garden. The deciduous grasses being cut to the ground in spring, just as a carpet of bulbs hold sway. As the seasons progress the grasses and herbaceous perennials provide structure, colour and are a magnet for wildlife. The garden is filled with bumble bees, ladybirds and butterflies.
Even when newly planted the Wedding Cake tree (Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’) draws the eye, welcoming and encouraging you into the garden.
A backdrop of shrubs such as Cornus kousa var chinensis and wonderful tiered branches of Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ provides a backdrop to the spring bulbs.
The grasses ensure that the garden a long season of interest stretching through the summer and long into autumn. This photograph was taken in mid October and the garden still has that wow! factor. Calamagrostis brachytricha create a rhythm through the planting.
Specimen trees such as the Wedding Cake tree ( Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’) and Coral bark Maple (Acer ‘senkaki’) give focal points along the strong axis of the gardens. The rich colours of the Coral Bark maple in autumn are stunning with the soft silvers of the flowers Miscanthus and quiet purple of the Eupatorium maculatum Atropurpureum group.
The group of four Acer senkaki soften the end of the pergola and connect the walkway to the boundary and out into the surrounding paddocks.
Verbena bonariensis, often covered with a fluttering of wings throughout the summer bringing another dimension to the garden, still look great in late autumn. Blue tits are often seen, barely bending the stems, as they take the seeds of the verbena if left over winter.
The wonderful oak panel fencing by Quercus Fencing blends beautifully with the forest setting. The texture of the broad, lush leaf of pittosporum tobira acts as a perfect contrast to the texture of the panel.
