Ghyll Cottage
The garden to be updated was a simple long cottage garden, with lawn and sporadic trees and shrubs. Our client, a golf course designer, had a vision for his garden, and approached us to help him to make it into a reality.
He provided us with a sketch of how he envisaged the garden to look, as seen from the house: a formal patio giving way to a more naturalistic space beyond. The idea was that you would be taken on a journey through different ‘rooms’, from formal near the house to less formal at the far end of the garden. This final ‘room’ would house a pond and raised beds for vegetables.
To make the most of the moving sunshine it was requested that there would be plenty of areas provided for seating.
The Solution
Our client provided us with an initial design sketch, which we then interpreted and carried out. We conducted a survey, levelled the site, and laid out the new design. We were then able to implement the landscaping. The planting was to be carried out by the client.
Most of the trees have been kept, and incorporated into the new design. As there was a lot of change to the space, we removed all of the original lawn and planted new turf.
In line with the client’s vision, the patio near the house has been laid out in a formal chequer board style, alternating each square with cobble paving and planting. We have paved around this central feature using autumn brown sandstone flags.
Utilising a natural corner position in the patio area, we built a curved feature bench seat using limestone, topped with oak, and an eye catching steam bent cedarwood back rest.
The unsightly oil tank, that is positioned in a central position along the side fence, has been screened using reclaimed pitch pine of various heights and thicknesses. This not only disguises the oil tank, but also creates an attractive feature for clematis and sweet peas to grow up.
The Outcome
Stepping out from the house, you enter the first room of the garden. A formal patio of rectangles and squares leads on through a transitional space where naturalistic planting is contained within square corten steel edged beds. Graduating onwards from this part of the garden, the steel edging begins to bend. A turfed, teardrop shaped lawn, edged with curved Corten steel, leads on from the square beds near to the house. A curved path, partially paved and partially gravelled with small-form Shap Pink granite gravel, leads to a comma shaped patio with a pretty rowan tree providing a further seating area. A stone edged pond tucks neatly into the corner of this part of the garden. A raised vegetable bed tucking into the opposite corner.
Planting in the squared patio area has a modern and structural feel to it, and, gradually becomes more rambling and cottagey in style. Alliums, grasses and herbs in the formal patio room give way to towering verbena and striking salvia in the transition room, along with peonies, scabius and lavender. Waving pennesetum edge the lawn in a teardrop shaped bed. Ferns, cirsium, lupins and brunnera mix with more grasses to fill the beds at the far end of the cottage garden.
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