The garden at Standen Barn, near Biddenden, Kent
The home of Prof Roland Rosner and Prof Denise Lievesley
A GARDEN often has to do a lot of heavy lifting-helping to make a house seem comfortable in the landscape; bringing together disparate elements; hiding or enhancing views; and providing protection from prevailing winds. At Standen Barn in Kent, all the above was required of five acres of flat, open field. The 15th-century black-timbered barn had only stood there since the 1990s and, with its narrow apron of paving, looked out of kilter with its surroundings, so even before there could be any detailed discussion about what kind of garden the owners wanted, there was much that required careful consideration. Roland Rosner and Denise Lievesley realised it was too big a project to do themselves, so they looked for professional help. After some searching, they were recommended Jo Thompson, who first visited the garden in 2010.
Miss Thompson, who has won numerous awards for her garden designs and sits on the RHS Gardens Committee, immediately understood what the owners wanted; namely, to strike a balance between a country garden that reflected the simple, timbered exterior of the barn and something that was modern and spoke to the light and airy contemporary interior. It was also important to create views from the barn, so that, from indoors, the house feels connected to its surroundings.
Denne historien er fra November 01, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 01, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds