What the judges said: “A beautifully simple, calm and coherent garden where the designer has paid excellent attention to the contrasts of shape and form in the planting to complement the architectural spaces. The use of water in creating light and a view of the sky is inspired and the lovely repetition of colour, and wonderful texture and movement created by mass grass planting is fabulous. A very accomplished and relaxing space.”
This contemporary house in Winchester needed a garden that would anchor it within its mature rural setting, harmonising with the house and the beautiful Grade II listed brick wall enclosing the property. With floor-to-ceiling windows in the house, the client wanted a design that would provide year-round interest when viewed from the inside and a degree of privacy from the outside. Spaces for dining and relaxing at different times of the day were also important and the planting scheme had to be low-maintenance and informal, to avoid detracting from the strong architecture of the cedar-clad house.
We created a network of beds to break up the central lawn and filled them with a carefully edited selection of grasses, perennials and shrubs, chosen for their winter structure as much as their summer form. Repeat planting throughout the space was used to ensure the whole garden worked together and a colour palette of bronze, purples, russets and pinks was chosen to harmonise with the warm tones of the house. Dual terraces in basalt paving reflect the linear design of the house and two geometric reflecting pools separate the outside spaces creating light and movement. Elsewhere, decking connects the swimming pool and the bedrooms and a dining terrace, surrounded by raised beds for salads, vegetables and herbs, provides a sheltered spot for entertaining.
Images copyright Jason Ingram, Richard Bloom
We are delighted to have won the prestigious Society of Garden Designers (SGD) Awards 2019 Medium Garden Award for our Winchester Garden. The garden was also a finalist in the Planting Design Category.
