{"id":25511,"date":"2023-08-22T14:47:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T12:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec0c143c-8e41-4fc7-9e35-6538650ea655"},"modified":"2023-08-22T16:34:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:34:55","slug":"a-small-city-meadow-garden-by-jenny-bloom","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/a-small-city-meadow-garden-by-jenny-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"A small city meadow garden by Jenny Bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"

For this garden in north London, designer Jenny Bloom drew inspiration from the unusually wild landscape on its fringes. Words Kate Jacobs. Photographs Richard Bloom. <\/p>

By Kate Jacobs\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 22 August 2023 at 12:47 PM<\/p>

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A small city meadow garden by Jenny Bloom<\/h1>
In small city gardens<\/a>, it can be hard to tap into any sense of genius loci. But this plot nestles up against the wildflower<\/a>-strewn banks of a north London reservoir and wetland. Along with a charming cob summer house, built by the previous owners, these banks form the vista of the garden. This unique character convinced the current owners, Emma and David Barker, to move here \u2013 and persuaded garden designer Jenny Bloom to take on the project. For all its charm, the garden had become crowded with a tangle of tall trees that shaded the whole space, while the boundary on one side was a mess of breeze block, brick and wire that only served to lead the eye towards the seven-storey block of flats beyond.<\/p>
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KEY ELEMENTS<\/strong><\/p>
What<\/strong> Residential garden. Where<\/strong> North London. Size<\/strong> An elongated quadrilateral covering about 410 square metres. Soil<\/strong> Topsoil over London clay, with added organic matter and grit where needed to ease drainage. Aspect<\/strong> Northwest-facing. Special features<\/strong> Cob house, meadow area. Designed by<\/strong> Jenny Bloom (jennybloom.co.uk<\/a>).<\/p>\n
A row of multi-stemmed bay trees creates a pleasing linear effect against the black fence while textural plants, including Persicaria bistorta Alchemilla mollis and Hakonechloa macra, soften the edges of the curving boardwalk from Millboard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Jenny also had to reconcile the family\u2019s seemingly contradictory wishes for their garden. While the two young children wanted somewhere to play, including a lawn for ball games, David wanted the space to feel neat, orderly and restful while Emma wanted to retain the garden\u2019s wild ambience. \u201cThe questions Jenny asked were so helpful in drawing out what we wanted and enabling us all to see the possibilities,\u201d recalls Emma.<\/p>
Taking the neighbouring wilderness as her inspiration, Jenny decided on a curvilinear plan to play down the garden\u2019s elongated quadrilateral shape and to open up the centre of the space with a lawn. The existing mature trees \u2013 including birch, ash, hawthorn, cherry<\/a>, pear and bay \u2013 were sensitively pruned<\/a> to bring more light into the garden while continuing to provide screening. A tall timber fence, stained black, was installed to screen the ugly boundary and act as a backdrop for planting.<\/p>\n
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The planting takes its inspiration from the wild area beyond the garden. In the shade of the cob house is Hydrangea quercifolia, Digitalis x mertonensis, Luzula nivea and Polystichum setiferum – \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Jenny created a serpentine boardwalk that meanders through a haze of planting, culminating in a seating area. Slightly elevated and edged with a fascia, it takes on a sculptural quality, allowing the visitor to feel as though they are floating through the planting. \u201cThis key feature adds definition to the space and helps bring everything together,\u201d explains Jenny.<\/p>
Jenny brought the wetland<\/a> into the garden by using plants inspired by those growing on the bank beyond. \u201cIn London, you can\u2019t often borrow a landscape of wildflowers and grasses, so I wanted to incorporate this into the garden by creating a perennial wildflower meadow<\/a> at the end of the lawn, blurring the boundary between the garden and the wild landscape beyond,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
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A mix of softer planting beneath an old flowering cherry includes Thalictrum \u2018Black Stockings\u2019, Hydrangea macrophylla \u2018Lanarth White\u2019, Astrantia \u2018Roma\u2019 and Spiraea japonica \u2018Goldflame\u2019 – \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
She was also keen to use the \u2018cultivated cousins\u2019 of the neighbouring wildflowers in this project. Plants such as Deschampsia cespitosa <\/i>\u2018Goldtau\u2019 and Cenolophium denudatum <\/i>are woven through the rest of the soft, romantic planting scheme, which also features strawberry foxglove (Digitalis <\/i>x mertonensis<\/i>), Campanula persicifolia <\/i>and Allium cristophii<\/i>, that repeat throughout the garden.\u201cThey add rhythm and unity,\u201d says Jenny. Opting for a colour palette of white, pale pink, purple and blue, with some hotter accent colours, Jenny selected many plants for their long flowering periods, including Persicaria bistorta <\/i>\u2018Superba\u2019 and white gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri<\/i>). \u201cEvery plant has to earn its place in a small garden.\u201d<\/p>
The family is delighted with the end result. \u201cIt feels spacious, restful and wild at the same time,\u201d says Emma. \u201cWe are surrounded by green and by nature. It\u2019s a hidden space in the middle of the city.”<\/p>
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The black fence creates a backdrop for this Acer palmatum \u2018Trompenburg<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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Ethereal Echinacea pallida and the purple spires of Salvia nemorosa \u2018Caradonna\u2019, with Allium cristophii and the dark foliage of Cotinus \u2018Grace\u2019;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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A gently bubbling Urbis water feature surrounded by plants, including Matteuccia struthiopteris and Erigeron karvinskianus.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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A mix of softer planting beneath an old flowering cherry includes Thalictrum Black Stockings, Hydrangea macrophylla \u2018Lanarth White\u2019, Astrantia Roma and Spiraea japonica Goldflame – \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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The planting takes its inspiration from the wild area beyond the garden. In the shade of the cob house is Hydrangea quercifolia, Digitalis x mertonensis, Luzula nivea and Polystichum setiferum – \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
$\"pleasing$
pleasing linear effect against the black fence while textural plants, including Persicaria bistorta Alchemilla mollis and Hakonechloa macra, soften the edges of the curving boardwalk from Millboard.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>