Contemporary garden design for modern English country estate – includes drought tolerant planting and sustainable grey water recycling solutions.
This Buckinghamshire country estate in the Chalfonts comprised large gardens infested with rhododendrons as well as bluebell woods.
The houses were designed by Lutyens but the gardens were undeveloped. Oaks had set seed with abandon and the woodland was making a concerted effort to reclaim the garden. They needed the help of garden designers with a strong knowledge of traditional uk garden design to restore the estate to it's former glory - and so we were invited to advise on the landscape design.
The rural setting and maturity of trees on this site of this site dictated that the garden design would be a responsive overlay of ephemeral planting to spectacular 100 year old oaks. Small seedlings were removed and new mixed native and hornbeam hedges planted. Several mammoth ancient oaks remained punctuating the landscape.
Key requirements for this design were vivid colours and seasonal change. It was also important that the garden retain a sense of wilderness and its open nature. The owners were also keen to stress that the area nearest the house, where they might throw a ball for the dog should not be filled with planting that might easily be damaged by an over-excited hound.
Classic garden motifs, such as clipped box balls pepper the landscape, providing evergreen structure with a relaxed formality.
Diagonal brushstrokes of lavender overlay the expansive lawns – providing loose, robust (dog proof) structure close to the house and rich colour and scent. From some rooms in the L shaped house, they appear to be a heavenly foil of blue and silver - from others, they become clearly defined paths and channels. Further away from the house, the planting brushstrokes increase in scale and daubs of seasonal colour are added. Glimpsed in the distance - through the trees are the lavish herbaceous borders. Viewed from the house, these opulently planted borders look like an idyllic wildflower meadow, a riot of colour and informality. As you get closer, you can see that they are simply the brushstrokes of painterly planting enlarged to rows 18 x 3 m - providing plenty of scope for meandering, as well as a sea of colour through the year. In this part of the garden, where it is more open, they also take advantage of the sunny site and recall the new wave perennial plantings that can been seen at Scampston Hall and Trentham. The planting is a mix of shrubs, hedges and drought tolerant perennials. Many have been chosen for their long season of interest or their sculptural seedheads and winter form. Others have been chosen to help improve biodiversity, as they attract pollinators such as bees and natural predators such as lacewings.
The more narrow passage to the woodland is again planted with blocks of ornamental grasses (Molina) to tie the scheme together and simplify the approach the woodland.
This garden suffers from drought, and so to get the garden established a grey water irrigation system is being installed under the main driveway as it approaches the house. Grey water is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing and comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater. It is a sustainable way of watering the garden as it establishes itself.
By creating structure in the garden through planting design, the costs of such a large garden design project can be kept to manageable proportions.
This Contemporary country landscape design is under construction.
