contemporary gardEN, HOLBROOK
Smaller enclosed spaces present exciting design opportunities where every inch counts. This courtyard sits in a corner of a wider garden and being north facing has its own little microclimate where half the garden is in full shade all day and the other half in part shade so the temperatures remain consistent and the soil is more moisture retentive. The client was keen for a more contemporary look as well as seeking an attractive view from the kitchen sink window which overlooks the courtyard - one of the most important views in the house as it is used 365 days a year.
We designed a seating area to sit in the middle of the space, enabling us to enclose the space with dramatic layered planting and create a feeling of seclusion - a private hidden retreat. It was important that the seating area was spacious enough to accommodate a table for six or seating for four large comfy chairs, giving versatility to how the space could be used. The client had some spare riven sandstone which matched the paving elsewhere in the garden, so in an effort to reuse and recycle that was used for both the new terrace and pathways to connect two other existing terraces.
Embracing the shady conditions and playing with scale we chose the versatile multistem Rhus typhina as a small multi-stem tree, to bring drama and height with their long arching branches and architectural pinnate leaf shapes. Under their canopy we planted a blanket of Hakonechloa macra grass that forms a lush, soft carpet of green with the most lovely wafty movement in a summer breeze. Alongside the grasses are planted the large bold leaves of Rodgersia pinnata ‘Elegans’ together with Japanese Holly Fern Cyrtomium fortunei and fern Dryopteris wallichiana, all contrasting forms to the grass and natural bed fellows for damp soil.
This lush verdant part of the garden is the most relaxing place to sit in and have a drink with friends or read a book on a hot summers day or warm summer evening.
Credit: Rebecca Lewis at Poshyarns Photography
