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<\/figure>\n\nKEY FACTS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Where<\/strong> Cambridge. The owners, Cambridge professionals with four young children, weren\u2019t too prescriptive about the design for their new garden. \u201cThe brief was fairly open,\u201d says designer Jane Brockbank, \u201cbut there were practical issues, such as ensuring there was plenty of privacy and enough space for the children to learn and play in.\u201d The couple home educate their children so it was vital the space could not only be a place to relax in and enjoy looking at, but a place that would offer opportunities for education and stimulation too.<\/p>\n\n The overall design is, on plan, quite simple. A terrace leads from the substantially renovated house: \u201cWe didn\u2019t need a big terrace as the large kitchen doors, when open, make you feel like you\u2019re outside anyway,\u201d explain the couple.<\/p>\n\n An almost-rectangular lawn with a single, statuesque Sorbus <\/em>allows plenty of usable open space in the first third of the garden, and then leads on to a productive vegetable garden.<\/p>\n\n Further down, through an inclined path and ornamental-inspired meadow, is the final third \u2013 the \u2018dark spa\u2019 as the architects call it. Housing a gym, sauna and guest suite, its black charred timber fa\u00e7ade make it the perfect backdrop to any planting.<\/p>\n\n The central part of the garden houses the greenhouse, raised beds and shed. Unusually, Jane didn\u2019t try and hide these \u2013 in fact, she deliberately kept them in clear line of sight to both help break up the garden and to show that growing, harvesting, caring and nurturing plants is an integral part of the garden experience.<\/p>\n\n Throughout, the hard materials were chosen for a consistent feel with the brick house extension: the terrace is an irregular shape with irregular shaped beds; the paths are Petersen bricks, surrounded by self-compacted gravel; and the raised beds are simple timber sleepers.<\/p>\n\n \u201cThere was no restriction on the colours or types of plants I could use,\u201d explains Jane \u2013 the owners were happy to be led by her choice and as a result, Jane\u2019s design has an abundance of planting that helps soften the boundaries and create an immersive experience.<\/p>\n\n The area in front of the \u2018dark spa\u2019, <\/strong>the guest suite building at the bottom of the garden, is a great example of blending planting with experience.<\/p>\n\n Key to the feel is the ornamental meadow. <\/strong>Situated in front of the spa bulding the planting gives a nod to the Cambridge Fens. It isn\u2019t a replica but rather an evocation of the plants, textures and colours of the lowland Fens in this part of East Anglia. \u201cI wanted to create a wildflower and long-grass area on one side, and a more ornamental version of it on the other,\u201d says Jane.<\/p>\n\n Jane used a flowering lawn mix from Emorsgate Seeds, <\/strong>which includes several key plants, including lady\u2019s bedstraw (Galium verum<\/em>), <\/em>white clover (Trifolium repens) <\/em>and meadow buttercup (Ranunculus<\/em> acris<\/em>). \u201cWhat\u2019s great is that it flowers early in the season so you can then cut it down and it becomes a shaggy lawn for the rest of the year,\u201d says Jane.<\/p>\n\n A mini \u2018orchard\u2019 of two small apple trees <\/strong>adds to the meadow feel, while a taller downy birch, Betula <\/em>pubescens, <\/em>gives height.<\/p>\n\n On the opposite side of the path is the spa border, <\/strong>which takes visual cues from the meadow but by using ornamental plants \u2013 for example, Anthemis <\/em>punctata <\/em>subsp. cupaniana <\/em>references meadow daisies, Cirsium <\/em>rivulare <\/em>\u2018Atropurpureum\u2019 relate to common thistles, while Geranium <\/em>\u2018Nimbus\u2019 references meadow cranesbill.<\/p>\n\n There is a slight incline to the path and wildflower mound <\/strong>(spoil from digging out the guest suite), but as you approach the building the slope reduces and you feel as if you are entering another world \u2013 both architecturally and physically. Even just over a few metres distance, the main garden seems a long way away, the main house further still. It\u2019s a clever piece of engineering in a relatively small space.<\/p>\n\n Some of the key design elements that help to create a seamless link between the newly renovated house and the guest spa at the bottom of the garden.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n \u2022 One of the key requirements by the clients <\/strong>for both architect and garden designer was to ensure a high level of privacy in the guest suite. The guest bedroom opens on to the \u2018spa garden\u2019: a semi-circular space that is bordered by 11 tall Chinese privet (Ligustrum<\/em> lucidum<\/em>), a great evergreen shrub that isn\u2019t often used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Slate pebbles and an offset boulder <\/strong>give a calming, almost Japanese-inspired feel. The connection between inside and out is seamless, lending a relaxed and meditative air to the intimate space \u2013 large bi-fold doors frame the view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Woodland plants, <\/strong>such as Disporopsis <\/em>pernyi <\/em>and wild ginger Asarum <\/em>europaeum, <\/em>thrive beneath the Chinese privet and add to the calming green palette that also includes the alpine water fern Blechnum <\/em>penna-marina <\/em>and the grass Hakonechloa <\/em>macra. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n Garden designer Jane Brockbank has used a blend of lower-growing and mid-range perennials, with bulbs, climbers, shrubs, grasses, herbs and trees to create year-round interest.<\/p>\n\n Plants, such as evergreen Sarcococca <\/em>hookeriana <\/em>Winter Gem (= \u2018Pmoore03\u2019) and Helleborus <\/em>argutifolius, <\/em>ensure winter interest, while a climbing Clematis <\/em>alpina <\/em>\u2018White Columbine\u2019 and the large shrub Magnolia <\/em>stellata <\/em>continue the show in spring. Summer sees plants such as Rosa <\/em>x odorata <\/em>\u2018Mutabilis\u2019 and Geranium <\/em>Patricia (= \u2018Brempat\u2019) come to the fore giving way to autumn flowerers such as Persicaria <\/em>amplexicaulis <\/em>\u2018Fat Domino\u2019.<\/p>\n\n No specific colour palette was specified, but the combination of purple sage (Salvia offinalis <\/em>\u2018Purpurascens\u2019) and yellow semi-double buttercup Ranunculus acris <\/em>\u2018Stevenii\u2019 in the bed on the terrace is particularly successful. Not often seen in ornamental planting, the buttercup is a particular favourite of Jane\u2019s and also makes a deliberate connection with the ornamental meadow near the guest suite.<\/p>\n\n The inclusion of shrubs in the borders, such as Viburnum opulus <\/em>\u2018Roseum\u2019, allow dappled light to the ground level below, where perennials Astrantia major <\/em>\u2018Large White\u2019 and Symphyotrichum laeve <\/em>\u2018Calliope\u2019 can flourish.<\/p>\n\n How the garden looks from inside was also a key consideration. From the kitchen table, the spatial balance of planting, grass lawn, productive vegetable area and the long grass in front of the guest suite, are key. Jane has ensured that all the boundaries of the rectangular site are clothed in plants to help visually blur the edges while ensuring that maximum value is gained from the space. <\/p>\n\n USEFUL INFORMATION <\/strong> SUPPLIERS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n Emorsgate Seeds <\/strong>Tel 01553 829028, wildseed.co.uk<\/a> Neil Dusheiko Architects <\/strong>Tel 07876 341273, neildusheiko.com<\/a> Petersen Bricks <\/strong>en.petersen-tegl.dk<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Little is hidden in this rectangular city garden, yet it stylishly manages to blend three distinct 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is hidden in this rectangular city garden, yet it stylishly manages to blend three distinct 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Size<\/strong> 12m x 35m.
Soil<\/strong> Light and sandy that dries out quickly but with a clay subsoil.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\nThe design brief<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/2e96dcbf-1db5-4412-bf2a-cc4f6e911ef8.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nThe ornamental meadow<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
Essential elements<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-15.59.43-1024x817.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nTOP DESIGN TIPS FOR<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
A secluded suite<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/75656b59-8dbd-4163-b278-d16c198f1b20.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/914d5c72-e1d4-446a-8d9b-b6c916ee1c46.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/CX559IP16084F1H5DCOU6IB729IM-1024x648.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nApproach to planting<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
<\/em>
Find out more about Jane\u2019s work at janebrockbank.com<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n