Many of us revamped our gardens during the lockdowns of the Covid pandemic, but few of us can claim to have embarked on projects of quite the scale achieved by André Schott. In just three years, he has transformed the garden behind his semi-detached suburban home into a watery landscape that looks as if it could have been here for decades.
When he moved here from London six years ago, in search of more outdoor space, André already had a clear vision. It drew on a lifelong fascination with water, birthed from his childhood in the Netherlands, where every spare moment was spent exploring the many bodies of water for which his country is renowned. “That’s my favourite part of nature – where the water meets the land,” he says. His dream was to create a water-meadow garden, filled with plants that thrive in and around wet places. “The idea is to walk through the garden and not really know where one pond ends and another begins.” By placing water at the centre of his scheme, André believes he has approached things differently from the majority of people who add water to their gardens. “Ponds are rarely integral to naturalistic design, where they are part of the border,” he says. “Normally all you get is a single circle of marginal plants – the pond and the garden are two separate things. I wanted to integrate the ponds into the design.”
This story is from the Summer 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Summer 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
STEPS TO SUCCESS
Enclosed within a rustic barn conversion, this courtyard garden contrasts riotous Mediterranean-inspired gravel planting with clean lines and a reflective pool
ANNIE GUILFOYLE
The garden polymath on the pleasures of passing on knowledge, the rewards of close observation and the circuitous route towards grounding her itchy feet
HEAVEN SCENT
As summer adds a new dimension to his garden, Nigel Slater reflects on the rewards of planting for perfume
Colour therapy
Ann-Maree Winter's joyful Australian garden became a place of solace and nurture in hard times
30 plants with interest all year
These hard-working plants provide several seasons of interest in your garden through flowers, fruit, foliage, bark and even spring shoots
PERFECT HARMONY
Rosarian Michael Marriott and TV producer Rosie Irving have very different ideas on gardening, but they have discovered the secret to sharing a single plot amicably
SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS
Loved for their showy spheres, alliums have long been stalwarts of late spring, but now new introductions are extending the party through summer
Faith in the future
Marian Boswall's contemporary design for the garden of a former chapel respects the property's history while looking to the future
Summertime at Sissinghurst
Ensuring Sissinghurst’s famous roses look fabulous throughout the season is one of the many tasks keeping head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team busy right now
FRESH APPROACH
Colm Joseph’s design for this new garden, which surrounds a modern house within a heritage setting, uses clever planting to give a historic site a contemporary feel