Borrowing from the Downs
Keeping formality near the house, the planting gradually becomes more natural as this rear garden meets The Downs.
“It was an absolute pleasure to have Heidi and team around during the project.
“She’s given me a beautiful garden with lots of interest, and at the same time is a space that is easy to maintain.”
— Claudia
The brief
Claudia and Andrew have a stunning house and garden in Poynings that looks straight out on to the South Downs. There was very little height or interest in their garden and when the kitchen was extended and bi-fold doors added, this further highlighted the bland vista.
Claudia was pregnant when we started designing, and we planted the last plant just two days before their daughter was born. The brief was simply to offer child, dog and wildlife-friendly planting.
The result
Sectioning the garden with native beech hedge, we created a planting plan that would transition from quite formal, surrounding the house, to become more naturalistic as it led away towards the Downs.
Native planting was combined with long flowering, high-pollen perennials that the local insects and birds would enjoy feasting on.
A lot of people with long, thin gardens feel quite frightened about sectioning them. In my opinion it is the only way to utilise the space and create areas of intrigue. Be brave, you won’t regret it!
