IN BRIEF<\/strong><\/p>\n

What<\/strong> A naturalistic country garden designed to blend with its forest setting.Where<\/strong> Hampshire.Size<\/strong> 3,000 square metres\nwithin 50 acres of woodland.Soil<\/strong> Clay.Climate<\/strong> One of the driest and sunniest areas of southern England.Hardiness zone<\/strong> USDA 9.<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the entrance side of the house, the lie of the land is cleverly exploited to create the impression of a sunken garden<\/a>, enclosed by rising tiers of raised beds edged in Corten steel<\/a>. A length of gabion wall has a practical function in retaining the slope, but cleverly doubles as a water feature<\/a>, discharging a glittering stream from a letterbox chute to a fishpond below. The geometry is precise, echoing that of the sleek modern buildings and sharp-edged pools that flank the walkway leading to the house, but all is softened by the graceful form of the existing old Cornus kousa<\/em> and a broad bed of diaphanous ornamental grasses<\/a> that seem to hover, cloud-like, above the water chute.<\/p>\n

To the eastern side of the house, a double row of hornbeams turns an access track running into the woods into a bucolic version of a formal avenue. To the south and west, all formality is forgotten, in a loose, richly textured planting where rudbeckias, sanguisorbas<\/a>, asters<\/a> and ironweed combine with grasses selected for their winter form, creating a naturalistic scene that sweeps round the house and flows gently downhill to merge comfortably into ungardened areas of grass and wildflowers<\/a> skirting the stream and pond<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll successful gardens are negotiations with their surroundings,\u201d says Helen, \u201cbut here it was particularly important to gain a thorough understanding of the site, and to respect the rhythms of the landscape.\u201d So while the productive garden, enclosed by walls and hedges<\/a>, could be neat and orderly, the ornamental garden had to \u201clet a breath out\u201d, and defer to the beauty of the forest. \u201cIt is all exactly as we hoped,\u201d says David.<\/p>\n

$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The deck seems to hover above a cloud of Deschampsia cespitosa<\/em> \u2018Goldtau\u2019 and purple moor grass, Molinia caerulea<\/em> subsp. arundinacea<\/em> \u2018Transparent\u2019. Original plantings of tall Rudbeckia maxima<\/em> are augmented by further rudbeckias grown by owner David Johnston from a free packet of seeds.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nShadows cast by the hornbeams and tall perennials<\/a> serve to camouflage walls of weathered chestnut. Perennials here include dark-leaved Michaelmas daisy Symphyotrichum<\/em> \u2018Coombe Fishacre\u2019, sanguisorbas<\/a> and spires of Lysimachia ephemerum<\/em>.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The pink flowerheads of Lythrum virgatum<\/em> \u2018Dropmore Purple\u2019 and bright yellow of Rudbeckia maxima<\/em> add colour and height to the planting, which rises a good metre above floor level, creating a feeling of being enveloped by plants.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
The water chute mirrors the strong horizontals of the gabion wall, while a stout grille protects the fishpond below from marauding herons.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Helen often employs Sanguisorba<\/em> \u2018Joni\u2019 in late summer plantings. With its bobbles of burgundy flowers suspended on tall stems, she finds it a more graceful alternative to popular Verbena bonariensis<\/em>. Here she has combined it with Anemone<\/em> Wild Swan (=\u2018Macane001\u2019).<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
David especially likes the purple moor grass, Molinia caerulea<\/em> subsp. arundinacea<\/em> \u2018Transparent\u2019 for the way it lives up to its name, here softening the angularity of the kitchen garden and adjacent workshop.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
At the heart of the vegetable garden is a space for entertaining with outdoor kitchen, where its plenty can be enjoyed.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Amsonias and vernonias are among the more unusual perennials included in the planting, along with a striking large- flowered burnet, Sanguisorba<\/em> \u2018Blackthorn\u2019.<\/p>\n
USEFUL INFORMATION<\/h2>\n
Find out more about Helen\u2019s work at elks-smith.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Read more about this garden in the Summer 2022 issue of Gardens Illustrated<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ambra Edwards Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 12:00 am It took 12 years to surmount the logistical and planning hurdles involved in building this dream New Forest home \u2013 a pair of eco-friendly, chestnut-clad cubes, joined by a generous oak deck, floating on 16 steel piles above the ground. They look out over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13053,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-scaled.jpg",1707,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-200x300.jpg",200,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-768x1152.jpg",768,1152,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-683x1024.jpg",683,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-1024x1536.jpg",1024,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/07\/a-garden-that-merges-into-the-new-forest-designed-by-helen-elks-smith-1365x2048.jpg",1365,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Ambra Edwards Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 12:00 am It took 12 years to surmount the logistical and planning hurdles involved in building this dream New Forest home \u2013 a pair of eco-friendly, chestnut-clad cubes, joined by a generous oak deck, floating on 16 steel piles above the ground. They look out over…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}