As so often happens, the building of a new extension was the catalyst to take a fresh look at an existing garden. To this end, Liz Houghton, who has lived at Grey Gables, a 1904 Arts-and-Crafts house in Buckinghamshire, since 1998, contacted the plantsman designer Sean Walter. ‘My brief to Sean was to create a modern relaxed garden, that connected effortlessly with the house and new contemporary extension,’ says Mrs Houghton, the founder in 2009 of the fashion label Mint Velvet. ‘I loved the trend of indoor-outdoor living and wanted different spaces for different occasions at different times of the day as the sun moves around the house.’ This was essential, as Grey Gables sits on the top of a slope with the garden wrapping around the front and sides. The high hedges and several mature trees added to the potential for the sun casting deep shade.
For Mr Walter, the key to rationalising the garden, with its several terraces, paths, lawns and driveway, as well as a swimming pool, was to ‘separate the car-parking area from the main lawn and to hide it from the main view from the house’. Once this was done, he could focus on defining the individual seating areas—giving each its own atmosphere— improving the paths and the planting alongside them and accentuating the path to the front door. When they began work about seven years ago, the extension hadn’t been started, which meant the landscape plan could be conceived at the same time.
Wherever you approach from, there is a wonderful vista
Denne historien er fra March 01, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 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.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
