the before
This gorgeous house in Hastingleigh, Kent has a great size garden. An usual layout means that the house sits right in the middle of the plot. There were already some good bones to the garden, but some odd layout decisions, resulted in the homeowners not enjoying great views from the house into the garden, having the entertaining space in the smallest part of the garden and not making the most of the beautiful views from the back boundary. For this garden what was needed was an evolution to resolve the layout and bring the whole garden together.
The homeowners were a little overwhelmed with the garden, there were areas with no interest and some areas of planting that needs to be maintained or removed. They knew that they wanted a garden that they could enjoy as a family, encourage wildlife into the garden and grow some herbs, fruit and vegetables.
the design solution
The design retained the existing brick paths and patios and then embellished on them. The garage entrance straightened out, widened and series of arches used to give a sense of journey to the house. The log store was removed and replaced with sleeper beds for a kitchen garden, that could double up as informal seating. A new path and seating area was designed for the far corner as this was a secluded part of the garden with views over the fields behind. To soften all the hard landscaping curved planted beds were introduced to create flow through the garden.
the garden
The existing planting was sculpted and cleared to bring into line with the design. The planting style more formal nearer the house, naturalistic with purples and oranges and then towards the woodland area much more rustic with ferns and other woodland planting. Log walls were created around the woodland seating area to utilise felled branches, create sculptural interest and provide a habitat for insect.
Rather than this being a heavy landscaping garden this has been a softer, horticultural project that bring the garden ready for its next evolution. I worked closely with the gardeners at Hythe Garden Landscapers to decide which existing planting to keep, prune and what to move and the result is a very natural feel, relaxed garden which has lots of colour through the seasons. As the planting gets more established it will be much more lush. I have really enjoyed using naturalistic planting guides for this garden.
Client Review: “Catriona is an absolute superstar. Her garden design was just what we were after and she was incredibly helpful in bringing the whole project together.”
Landscaping and Gardening https://www.hythegardenlandscapes.co.uk/
Plants: https://www.howardnurseries.co.uk/ https://blakeneyhouse.co.uk/