Orchard Dene
When our client approached us to ask for a complete transformation of their garden, we were more than delighted to offer our services. The project required a complete redesign, involving extensive landscaping and an imaginative rethink of how to use the space.
The lawn that wrapped round three sides of the house was to go, along with the narrow beds that bordered it.
The row of pollarded trees at the top of the garden, that continually threatened to interfere with the power lines above them, were also to be dispensed with.
In their place, the client was keen to see a tropical paradise take shape, with a more Mediterranean style garden around the entrance to the garden.
The clients requested a feature that would be seen from inside the house, as you walk through the front door.
The hot tub above the terrace, had been screened from the neighbours by a row of bamboo. The clients asked that this be replaced with something that would not hang over the edge of the tub, and that would screen the hot tub from next door, as well as their own driveway.
All the terracing and pathways were to be reconfigured and re-laid using natural slate to replace the Indian sandstone.
The Solution
The lawn has been removed to make way for the new jungle garden, and all of the existing paving has been taken up and removed. The line of trees at the top of the garden has been taken out, along with all existing planting and paving, to make room for the new garden. Many of the plants from the house garden have been rehomed in the long stretch of border that edges the driveway to the house.
What was once the lawn has been reconfigured, with a winding forest path running through the meandering beds that have become home to the tropical plants that define this area of the garden. All the plants for this area have been chosen for their ability to thrive in the Cumbrian climate. The Trachycarpus tree is hardy down to as low as -18°. Other jungle plants that have been picked for their hardiness and their tropical appearance include tree fern, Fatsia, Magnolia Granidflora, Rhododendron, Butia and Cordyline.
In the lower section of the garden, immediately as you enter through the gateway, a rockery has been built, and is now home to an olive tree, lavender, grasses and pine, evincing a strong sense of the Mediterranean landscape.
A Corten steel moon gate was chosen as the ideal focal point to be seen from the house. And through it a selection of tree ferns draw the attention with their spectacular fronds. A water feature made using a Corten steel bowl tinkles gently with rippling water.
A new raised platform, topped with composite decking, has been erected to house the hot tub. This will separate it from the dining terrace and the front door. The new hot tub terrace has then been edged with a 2m high Portuguese laurel hedge, with a taller, pleached hedge of the same plant. The use of pleached trees along with the lower hedge is an effective and stylish way of providing privacy from both ground level and upper story views.
The low path around the house has been replaced with a gravel and slate flag path, which is interspersed with grasses and ferns to soften its appearance.
Steep steps at the far side of the house have been rebuilt with a longer, shallower gradient to make them easier to navigate.
The beech hedging that surrounded the garden has been replaced with cherry laurel hedging that blends with the larger leaved, tropical style planting.
The Outcome
As you enter by the main entrance, you are welcomed into a Mediterranean paradise. Olive trees, low growing pine, azaleas, grasses, lavender and towering verbena immerse you instantly in the Med. Sharp, squared paving juxtaposes with the multi-textural planting scheme, bringing naturalism and contemporary design together in harmony.
A glimpse past the soaring cypress trees that adorn the front door, tells of a different world beyond the hot tub. Graduated planting blends the Mediterranean garden seamlessly into the tropical world beyond.
A meandering forest pathway winds through the jungle. Without a formal edging, the path blends naturally into the planting of ferns, low grasses, heucheras and trailing catmint. Tropical trees and shrubs bring a sense of the exotic, and the water feature brings movement and calm to the garden.
“Our new garden is an absolute joy to come home to”
Joe
