Previous Page |
Show Gardens
Open Garden
(Gold, Best Show Garden) Designed by Roger Platts to celebrate 75 years of the National Garden Scheme (the famous Yellow Book) 'Open Garden' showed a garden before and after a 'sensitive restoration' by an NGS gardener. In style a classic English country garden the strong axial lines were soften by informal, overflowing planting of huge range and variety.
The garden used a strong central axis across the plot, running from an seat made from an old iron tank set against the brick wall to an oak pergola, which provided a relaxing and fragrant place of entertaining. A second axis ran from the front of the garden, with a small picket gate facing onto a 'roadside' and, at the rear, entering a wooded area. Clipped box hedges reinforced the symmetry of the garden.
A number of small trees gave height and scale to the plantings - all were special and had a part to play. At centre stage a Cornus alternifolia 'Variegata' backed an iron water tank. Acers, catalpa, cornus, cercidiphyllum, robinia, philadelphus, stryax and viburnums were included in the small trees and shrubs. Even pittosporums, olearia and griselinia, the NZ native broadleaf, found a home in this diverse garden.
Old brick walls and a cast-iron tank were recycled as garden features, the wall hung with shade-loving plants, such as Hydrangea petiolaris, and roses. Euphorbias, geraniums and other shade tolerant plants were planted along the foot of the wall.
The sunny side of the garden boasted a brimming border and many of the 18 different roses used in the garden. Campanulas, delphiniums, scabious, cistus, heuchera, francoa, nepeta, knautia, aquilegia, salvias and roses and more roses filled this very English, but enthusiast's collection of plants. Colours were in blues, mauves and pinks with spires of cream sisyrinchium and blue delphiniums.
The tank was softened with plantings of astilbe, iris and sisyrinchium while water lilies and the striped reed adorned the water itself.
A lovely garden beautifully executed and planted. Designer Roger Platts had arranged the plants on site, massing them in front of the garden and then selecting and placing them on the spot. Surprisingly, the garden featured not one allium.
Sanctuary
(Gold) The Merrill Lynch garden used a mix of formal and organic shapes, with a sweep of lawn and water and restrained planting bringing tranquillity a garden that befitted its name.
Designer Stephen Woodhams used a simple scheme with a geometric grid of hornbeams and a pair of clean, symmetrical limestone terraces at either end of the garden. In the middle a more flowing border/lawn combination added a quiet calm to the design.
The terrace at the rear of the site held a striking water feature, a stainless steel wall of water with a round 'moon' in one corner. The second terrace had a shallow rectangular pool across which a limestone bench faced a pair of stone masks reminiscent of the famous Easter Island sculptures.
Wooden walkways swung beneath the trees, allowing easy access to the wide borders and reinforcing the more organic feel to the centre of the garden.
Planting was soft and ran along the sides of the plot, widening under the hornbeams to sweep out into the garden space. Silhouettes of foxgloves rose from heuchera, grasses against the wall.
Bold sweeps of orange tulips, euphorbia, alliums, bronze Carex buchananii, and grey santolina formed part of the restrained planting palette in purple, grey, plum, bronze and green.
Next page |
|
|
|
|
NGS 'Open Garden'
Gold plus Best Show Garden
Brick walls and shade planting - 'Open Garden'
Traditional oak beams shelter a dining area
The garden 'before'
Sanctuary - curving lines for tranquillity
Bold sweeps of planting followed the lines of the garden
Seating faces a pair of masks across a shallow pool | |
