GEORGIAN COUNTRY HOUSE
Project Type: Existing Rural Grounds and Garden
Size: 2.5 acres
Cost Bracket: Undisclosed
Having spent five years lovingly restoring this historic Georgian house into a wonderful family home, these clients turned their thoughts to the grounds, which had lost their former glory. We were approached to create a masterplan for the grounds, adding key features like a new walled garden and tennis court, and creating gardens within the garden, which all connected and flowed as one.
DESIGN BRIEF
Creating a sense of arrival that guided visitors to the main entrance was one of the key requirements, along with the addition of a new walled garden and tennis court. The remaining garden was to encompass a series of different garden 'rooms' within the grounds, inspired by the gardens of notable local country houses. The key objective was for the enhancements to feel at one with the house, using a harmonious mix of reclaimed materials, creating a timeless and elegant garden for the family to enjoy and create wonderful memories in.
DESIGN CHALLENGES
Arriving down the tree lined drive it is unclear where the main entrance is, as the front door is actually a side door, and it was partially obscured by a hedge and a large beech tree leaning perilously close to the adjacent coach house. The gorgeous front elevation of the property was surrounded with an expanse of hardstanding for parking. The rear lawns sloped down and around the magnificent and immovable blue cedar and were dangerous for the young children to play on. Being a Grade II Listed property, the design needed to be sympathetic to the buildings and wider landscape.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Using formal hedging and topiary visually define the entrance to the courtyard and guide the eye directly to the door, sadly the beech tree had to go as it was clearly a case of wrong plant, wrong place. The change of material to granite setts gives physical feedback and a sense of arrival when driven over. Using hedging and walls the wider garden is divided into smaller individual gardens allowing for each one to have a distinct feel and style appropriate for its use. By gently terracing the rear lawns and adding generously proportioned steps leading down the garden created child-friendly lawns to play on. These continued, sweeping around the cedar, working with the natural topography of the ground, and not fighting the lack of symmetry the cedar caused.
MASTERPLAN
