AN IDYLLIC COUNTRY COTTAGE IN AN EXTENSIVE GARDEN

I was delighted to be asked to redesign the garden of this much loved second home, situated in a delightful spot on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. The garden was charming but a little neglected and I felt that it needed only a light touch to create an elegantly understated yet low maintenance setting for the beautiful cottage, so that the family would be able to relax and enjoy being outdoors on their frequent visits. The prominent gravel drive was untidy and the layout of the tired flower borders offered plenty of scope for improvement. A traditional central path from road to front door had long since vanished beneath grass, leaving a sunken strip. The family did not wish to reinstate the path so the depression was filled in and the area turfed to create a high quality, level front lawn. A very simple path in reproduction paving bricks, with borders either side, provides a pretty yet practical access from the drive to the front door. The borders were planted with a range of shrubs and roses, herbaceous perennials and spring bulbs surrounded by elegant box hedging. An unsightly Klargester in a prominent and exposed position was successfully screened with planting. There was space in the orchard for a new mulberry and a medlar and we under planted the area with a range of spring and early summer bulbs to extend the season of interest. The final stage of the design was implemented in Spring 2015, with the addition of a perennial wildflower meadow area beyond the large pond.

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