This country retreat was designed to be used for weekends and holidays. Our brief was to create two distinct areas within the garden – one for evening entertaining and another for relaxing with friends and family.
The garden, which was adjacent to two agricultural fields, was awkwardly triangular in shape. It was a fairly modest plot in comparison to the size of the house, so it was essential to capture the surrounding landscape to make the garden feel both larger and connected to the site.
We planted stretches of wildflower meadow around the field boundary to provide delightful views from early spring through to late summer, when the seed heads catch the light and provide a larder for birds and insects. A pictorial meadow was also planted below an establishing orchard to continue the seasons of interest.
The terraces were positioned to make the most of the light at different times of the day. The sunken sofa terrace catches the midday sun and provides a beautiful space to look out over the garden to the fields beyond, while the dining deck and outdoor kitchen were placed to capture the evening sun.
Planting by the main sunken terrace is a traditional mix of Roses and shrubs underplanted with perennials, in a colour palette chosen to work against the black buildings. The planting around the dining terrace picked up some of the more billowing plants and blended them to work with the surrounding landscape.
