{"id":14990,"date":"2022-10-04T15:21:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T13:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=14990"},"modified":"2022-10-04T15:21:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T13:21:25","slug":"kentish-belle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/2022\/10\/04\/kentish-belle\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentish belle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"

The gentle slope leading down from the house is framed by several island beds featuring shrubs and grasses. Here, black elder (Sambucus nigra<\/em> f. porphyrophylla<\/em> \u2018Eva\u2019) and Physocarpus opulifolius<\/em> \u2018Diabolo\u2019 are interspersed with grasses Molinia caerulea<\/em> subsp. arundinacea<\/em> \u2018Transparent\u2019 and Panicum virgatum<\/em> \u2018Shenandoah\u2019. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Kentish belle<\/h2>\n\n

Shrubberies as islands of dense planting punctuate undulating swathes of lawn, creating privacy and enabling views in this garden designed by Jo Thompson in the Weald of Kent <\/p>\n\n

WORDS FRANCINE RAYMOND | PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
IN BRIEF <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

What <\/strong>A large, south-facing country garden, designed by Jo Thompson, surrounded by ancient oak trees.
Where <\/strong>Kent. 
Size <\/strong>Just over one acre.
Soil <\/strong>Heavy clay. 
Climate <\/strong>Temperate.
Hardiness zone <\/strong>USDA 9.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

\"\"
The outdoor kitchen arena and firepit are surrounded with texture-rich clumps of Calamagrostis<\/em> x acutiflora<\/em> \u2018Karl Foerster\u2019, and Molinia caerulea<\/em> interspersed with evergreen Euphorbia<\/em> x pasteurii<\/em>. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Hidden deep in the Kentish countryside, somewhere between Great Dixter and Sissinghurst, lies an idyllic, small field of gently undulating pasture bound by brooding, mature oaks and surrounded by grazing sheep. With a brief to create a series of notional spaces for entertaining, while still respecting the Wealden location, garden designer Jo Thompson has been working on this project off and on over the past ten years. <\/p>\n\n

Her initial reaction was to do nothing. \u201cWhen I visit a scene like this, my first instinct is to leave it alone, with, at most, some gentle intervention.\u201d But the field on two levels, surrounding a farmyard with a newly built house above and the remains of a 14th-century barn below, is owned by a family who wanted space to eat and cook outside, a pool, and, above all, privacy. <\/p>\n\n

The house, now happily settled, and with its reclaimed Kent peg tiles and red brick, rustic shiplap and Arts and Crafts leanings looking as though it has always been there, is separated from the barn (now barely recognisable with its modern surround of glass and timber) by a sloped series of three brick-faced terraces. The texture-rich beds are crammed full of Great Dixter-inspired planting: high-waving Molinia <\/em>grasses, architectural Euphorbia <\/em>x pasteurii <\/em>and airy Cephalaria <\/em>gigantea <\/em>are punctuated with large pittosporum balls, creating a see-through hedge that both links and divides the two living spaces. The owner explains: \u201cLooking out at the terrace from my office in the barn, the planting provides interest all year, from bulbs in the spring to grasses constantly moving in the wind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
The formal garden features half a dozen pleached hornbeams, with Hydrangea arboresens <\/em>\u2018Annabelle\u2019 behind and low beech hedging Fagus sylvatica<\/em> f. purpurea<\/em> in the foreground. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
A low border of orange and yellow Helenium<\/em> \u2018Waltraut\u2019 and Rudbeckia fulgida<\/em> var. deamii<\/em> with Verbena bonariensis <\/em>curves round behind the outdoor kitchen, with ancient oak trees behind. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Moving on across York stone terraces that cover a former farmyard, there\u2019s a change of mood. Here a tranquil, shady spot with a fountain in a formal garden of box-surrounded, pleached hornbeams, backed with Hydrangea <\/em>arborescens <\/em>\u2018Annabelle\u2019, and climbing star jasmine and Clematis <\/em>\u2018Alba Luxurians\u2019, overlooks an understated swimming pool. This is surrounded by a low, beech hedge punctuated with sanguisorbas, Verbena <\/em>bonariensis, <\/em>Calamagrostis <\/em>x acutiflora <\/em>\u2018Karl Foerster\u2019, fennel and bistort, all late-summer stalwarts to see the family through the summer holidays. <\/p>\n\n

The view from all three bases \u2013 house, barn and pool \u2013 stretches across a green sward, originally on two levels, now landformed with a gentle slope uniting the upper to the larger, lower lawn. Both lead the eye gently to a quintessentially English view of dark oaks silhouetted against blond, cut meadows edged with cleft-chestnut, two-bar fences.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

In order to create privacy without destroying the view, Jo has created several shrubberies. She explains: \u201cA hedge wouldn\u2019t have been practical and wouldn\u2019t have grown under the trees. It struck me instead that we could make a feature of the space in front of the boundary by creating island beds that can be enjoyed from all sides. I wanted to pick out the deepest shades of the trees that create the shadows \u2013 the purples, oranges and deep reds. So I planted Physocarpus <\/em>opulifolius <\/em>\u2018Diabolo\u2019, then Acer <\/em>palmatum, <\/em>Abelia <\/em>\u2018Edward Goucher\u2019 and Hydrangea <\/em>quercifolia, <\/em>dotted with shimmering Molinia <\/em>caerulea <\/em>and Panicum <\/em>grasses, all together in a series of island beds.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
The avenue of white-barked Betula utilis <\/em>subsp. jacquemontii <\/em>\u2018Doorenbos\u2019 slopes gently down, showing the land-formed slope from the upper level to the lower lawn. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The upper terrace of the garden running along the back of the farmhouse is bordered by a yew hedge fronting deep oak woodland. This frames views from the house and here Jo has created a bit of formality \u2013 with stepped ways down to the rest of the garden, the first a small, classic pair of twin herbaceous borders with a bed at the end to give \u201ca green full stop\u201d, and the second an avenue of Betula <\/em>utilis <\/em>subsp. jacquemontii. <\/em>Both encourage a circular, flowing route around the garden without blocking the main view. <\/p>\n\n

Scalloped into the landscape below this level is a no-nonsense, outdoor kitchen with dark, slate worktops, stainless steel cupboards and built-in Fire Magic Echelon ovens besides a curved, seated brick arena formed around a large fire bowl. Like much else in this garden, the attention to detail here by David Milloy of Abbey Garden Landscaping has been outstanding. <\/p>\n\n

The garden flourished with inbuilt irrigation during its first few years of growth, but since then the plants have had to survive the ever-changing vagaries of the weather unaided. With continuing plans for a pool house and vegetable plot, this garden still has new secrets to reveal and was recently awarded a Gold Medal by the American Association of Professional Landscape Designers. <\/p>\n\n

One of the advantages of a co-operative project such as this is that over the period of its genesis the owner has developed a love not just of the garden, but of gardening itself: \u201cI\u2019ve found gardening a great way to relax. I love seeing how our garden evolves from year to year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
The pool terrace surrounded with late-summer flowering perennials: Sanguisorba officinalis<\/em> \u2018Red Thunder\u2019, Bistorta amplexicaulis<\/em> \u2018Blackfield\u2019 and Foeniculum vulgare <\/em>\u2018Purpureum\u2019, by the side of the barn. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\"\"
The view of the countryside beyond is interrupted by island beds full of shrubs, the colours of which pick up shades of dark purple, red and bronze taken from the shadows of the oak trees, using Magnolia Black Tulip (= \u2018Jurmag1\u2019), Acer palmatum<\/em> \u2018Bloodgood\u2019, Cercis canadensis<\/em> \u2018Forest Pansy\u2019 and Pittosporum tenuifolium<\/em> \u2018Golf Ball\u2019. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

USEFUL INFORMATION <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Find out more about Jo\u2019s work at jothompson-garden-design.co.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Jo\u2019s colour inspiration <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
\"\"
The top terrace features an avenue of birches to the left and twin herbaceous borders of Eutrochium dubium<\/em> \u2018Little Joe\u2019, Helenium <\/em>\u2018Waltraut\u2019 and Agastache<\/em> \u2018Blackadder\u2019, which frame the view from the house and offer routes down to the lower garden. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

In her recent book, The <\/em>Gardener\u2019s <\/em>Palette <\/em>(Timber Press, 2022), designer Jo Thompson describes a secret garden she visited, where \u2018the greens and greys and browns were speckled with oranges and yellows, reds and pinks. But these weren\u2019t coming from flowers: they were the result of light and shadows as they played on different surfaces.\u2019 She wonders whether it is just colour that creates atmosphere, or whether there are other elements at play \u2013 location, light, climate or cultural references. <\/p>\n\n

The triumph of this garden\u2019s palette is in referencing the colour that comes from the shadows created by the oaks that surround the garden. By using dark reds, almost-blacks and deep purples, as well as the terracotta that incorporates the colours of the building materials, the plants merge and do not distract the eye or break the ambience. The owners also had a dislike of pastels, which have mostly been avoided in the island beds, terraces and pool surrounds. <\/p>\n\n

The formal, white garden creates a different mood. Here, the owners wanted a tranquil, bosky spot to relax in, among a combination of green foliage and white flowers. The pool garden colouring was apparently inspired by the merging tones of a Battenberg cake: the copper of the beech, the pool\u2019s expanse of bluegreen, and the fresh, green leaves of the pleached hornbeam. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shrubberies as islands of dense planting punctuate undulating swathes of lawn, creating privacy and enabling views in this garden designed by Jo Thompson in the Weald of Kent <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"44","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"44","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_44-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_44-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"October-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"October-2022","purple_external_id":"October-2022-44-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"October-2022-44-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000090146||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000090146||","purple_android_product":"com.im.gardensillustrated.318","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.gardensillustrated.318","purple_ios_product":"com.im.gardensillustrated.318","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.gardensillustrated.318","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"7d582053-f286-4aed-b67e-c3b795d70c4d","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-10-04T13:21:33Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"fce98c77-838a-4b8c-bb47-f78fb6148149","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-10-04T13:21:34Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A_OmMd4OKS4y7R_ePthSBSQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[17],"tags":[45],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a.jpg",2048,1369,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a-1024x685.jpg",800,535,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a-1536x1027.jpg",1536,1027,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/09\/a4182460-9669-4d5c-ab89-d4ec4b3b6a0a.jpg",2048,1369,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Shrubberies as islands of dense planting punctuate undulating swathes of lawn, creating privacy and enabling views in this garden designed by Jo Thompson in the Weald of Kent","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14990"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14990"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15606,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14990\/revisions\/15606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}