a calm, intimate and immersive garden with countryside views
Our clients approached us looking for a garden that supports both sociable entertaining and quiet moments of personal reflection. Whilst giving it a fresh design, we collectively wanted to keep and celebrate its elevated position and expansive views across the surrounding countryside.
The overall concept is rooted in creating a strong sense of place: a garden that feels connected to the wider landscape yet remains a sheltered, inviting extension of the home.
Immediately outside the rear of the house, a generous area of timber decking provides a seamless transition from interior to exterior and forms the primary space for dining and entertaining. From here, a network of narrow, meandering self-binding gravel paths leads visitors on a gentle journey through the garden. These sinuous routes encourage exploration and discovery, softening the space and reinforcing the sense of calm. Reclaimed cobble setts are set into the gravel at intervals to subtly define seating areas and create tactile moments underfoot, while also referencing traditional materials and craftsmanship.
Three distinct seating areas are positioned to offer different experiences throughout the day: a dining area close to the house, and two more secluded seating spaces in the lower corners of the garden. These are orientated to provide both sunny and shaded options and to frame long views back towards the house, allowing the architecture to be glimpsed through layers of grasses and perennials. The garden is intended to be a “wow” space for visitors, gradually revealing itself as they move through it.
Planting has been carefully curated to echo the surrounding fields, hedgerows and distant trees, creating a soft dialogue between the garden and its wider landscape. A combination of prairie, new perennial and wildflower-inspired planting provides structure, seasonal drama and biodiversity. Multi-stemmed birch, Amelanchier and Prunus serrula introduce light canopies, sculptural form and year-round interest, while grasses and perennials bring texture, movement and sound, particularly in winter when seed heads are left standing.
Mediterranean influences are subtly woven into the scheme through the inclusion of aromatic plants such as rosemary and lavender, providing fragrance, sensory richness and useful herbs for cooking. These sit comfortably alongside more naturalistic planting, bridging cultivated garden and wild landscape. All plants have been selected for their resilience to the site’s exposed conditions and prevailing winds, ensuring longevity and sustainability.
Biodiversity is a key driver of the design. The planting palette prioritises nectar-rich and seed-bearing species to support birds, bees and butterflies, while the layered structure of trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials creates valuable habitat. A discreet composting area has been integrated to support sustainable garden management.
In contrast to the expansive and dramatic rear garden, the front of the house is designed as a charming cottage garden enclosed by a picket fence and softened with climbing plants. This creates a sense of anticipation and surprise, offering no hint of the expansive views and immersive planting beyond, and reinforcing the feeling of discovery as one moves through the property.
Overall, the garden is conceived as a richly layered, biodiverse and deeply atmospheric space: one that complements the architecture of the house, responds sensitively to its landscape setting, and provides year-round beauty, comfort and delight for both people and wildlife.
