FINALIST INSPIRATION The garden has been a really great creative thing for me"

Novice gardener and artist Ian Rayer-Smith has turned a blank canvas into this masterpiece of informal and formal design one of our Gardens of the Year finalists

At the home of Ian and his partner, a classic English cottage garden style has been mixed with the romantic formality of an Italian garden to great effect. Ian’s career as a contemporary expressionist painter has no doubt influenced his aesthetic choices, which charmed our judging panel and ensured his place as a Gardens of the Year finalist. lan admits that they took on this project with virtually no gardening experience, but have since fallen in love with gardening and with their tranquil plot, which offers them a retreat from busy lives in the city.

What was the garden like when you first moved here?

The previous owners didn't have a garden. They had a garden plan that they left behind but never put into practice, and it didn't look appropriate for the building, which is a converted chapel. We wanted a more traditional design, more in keeping with the house and the area. The outside area was barren, just gravel really. What we didn't realise was that there was building material buried everywhere. The soil that was here was basically covering up all the rubbish and rubble from when the house was converted. So we had to dig that all out and had a load of soil brought in.