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A small
amount of lawn was created to act as a foil to the plants. It's
not a large garden by any means but we've managed to squeeze in a lot
of plants! We've also added some matt black trellis panels and two pergolas
which were also painted black. These were
necessary for shade (even in Scotland!) as well as being
important structural features.
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My job was
the designing while hubby Gordon did all the spade-work. Much of the garden is given over to
deep borders and patios and a gravel path runs all the way round.
I wanted to be able to go for a wander through the borders, among the
plants, and never have to come back the same way.
My favourite garden designer and
the one I am most influenced by is John Brookes. I bought one of his
books in the 90's and immediately knew the style of garden I wanted to
create and couldn't wait to get my hands on this brand new project. He
taught me that a garden is more than just a space for growing flowers! |
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One of
my design objectives was to create drama from the juxtaposition of light
against dark and dark against light and to allow one plant to rise up
through, or entwine in, the foliage of a contrasting one alongside or
behind it.
Emphasis was put on foliage colours that would punch out against
contrasting foliage, like this fantastic White-Barked Multi-stemmed
Himalayan Birch (right) against the dark green glossy Prunus leaves. |
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The Rhododendron pictured on the right is one of our
favourites. She's called Cynthia and she is absolutely stunning - so vibrant
beside the matt black trellis and the pale silvery grey wooden deck and
garden furniture.
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The garden is probably at its most colourful in May and
June when the dark purple Japanese Acer leaves have appeared and the
young foliage of the evergreen Pieris Forest Flames that are dotted
around the borders appear fiery red before gradually turning from pink
to cream and finally dark green.
At the same time various Rhododendrons are taking it in
turn to burst into full bloom creating large swathes of deep crimson and
bright pink around the borders.
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One of the stars at the front of the house in the winter months is the Japanese Maple 'Senkaki
(pictured right). Known as the 'Coral Bark Maple', in winter the
young branches are an incredible coral red colour making a great winter
focal point. The red is intensified by the fact that it's stems
rise up among some lovely blue-green and grey-green evergreen conifers
creating an amazing contrast! |
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There's something
quite exciting about the
way the blue greens and grey greens of a silvery green Olive or
Eucalyptus combine elegantly when inter-planted with the dark red leaves
of the purple Berberis. Or a pot of Lillies strategically placed
in the border to allow their pure white heads to intensify against the
dark blue Conifer behind them.
Although it's not a
flower garden as such we have made some exceptions - pots of white
lillies, oriental poppies and a group of deep pink Surfinias manage to
find their way into the design in the summer months. |
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I wanted to pay close
attention to textural composition, mixing for example the broad smooth
leaves of pale green white-edged Hostas with blue-green rhododendron
leaves and the purple red leaves of Japanese Acers.
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Now that the garden
has matured there is a lot of cropping, chopping and lopping goes into
keeping things in proportion.
There are now lots
of geometric shapes to be found .... mounds, cubes, cones, horizontals
and verticals, such as the pergola structures and the two wonderful
Juniperus 'Skyrocket' conifers standing like exclamation marks in the
borders.
Then there's
the bright
horizontal slash of this lovely old stone seat on the right (created using a long
slab of beautiful sandstone) which punches out from the dark foliage
like a bold brushstroke in
a shady corner making a striking light/dark contrast.
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Autumn is a
particularly colourful time in the garden when bright red berries appear
on the Cotoneasters and the bright reds intensify, like this amazing
Euonymus Alatus (or Winged Spindle) on the left almost vibrating against
the deep
green background of the lawn.
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The paving for this little round
patio was deliberately chosen for it's bright sunlit effect against the
dark glossy green vertical backdrop of ivy. The black metal dining set
and the matt black horizontal frame of the pergola are both important
influences on the effectiveness of this composition.
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This area close to the
house allows for the use of interesting pots and containers, perfect for
this spiky exotic-looking collection.
Also a good area for displaying individual specimens
like box balls in tall granite planters or little groups
for still life painting.
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This has
definitely matured into more a foliage garden than a flower garden. The colour
theme is soft and blending
with emphasis on leaf size, shape and colour. My
aim when designing it was to create a landscape with depth and
interest from every angle and with drama around every corner. I hoped this would preserve the design
from any possibility of monotony. |
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