PROJECT BY YOUR GARDEN DESIGN
The Brief
With its idyllic location overlooking Chichester Harbour, this breathtaking garden was created from what had been a building site. The original house on the plot was demolished and a beautiful new one built. The garden, which covers about ¾ acre, only retained the shell of the original swimming pool. David Loy at Your Garden Design was appointed to undertake its design and landscaping.
‘The brief was for a contemporary but fairly naturalistic project,’ says David. ‘The clients didn’t want a design that screamed traditional English country garden, but at the same time they didn’t want a plot that was overly hard and too contemporary. They wanted a blend of naturalism coming through, offsetting some of the hard surfaces with swathes of soft planting. They also wanted to bring the view from the distance over the water back in.’
The Project
The garden is awkwardly shaped so that provided some challenges. ‘The house sits in its plot centrally but the garden is almost like a dog bone, narrow in the middle and wider at both ends. We had to try and make use of the existing pool and link the pool house and gym with the house, while providing an entertainment space for the family with an outdoor kitchen space. They wanted to have a beautiful outside area and for the space between the two buildings to link together seamlessly.’ David used materials for the hard landscaping that complemented the house and its interior and tied them together. ‘We wanted a crisp clean look with the paving and then to soften it with the planting, introducing a contrasting Belgian brick detail to really make it ping.’
The stone selected was Artisans of Devizes’ Buscot Limestone with an etched finish - its slightly bleached surface ensures a uniform appearance - and it was used for the paving around the house, the pool and on the stone walls near the house as it gives a really clean line. Buscot was chosen because it contrasts well with the Siberian larch cladding on the exterior of the house. ‘Buscot is our most popular stone by a country mile,’ says David. ‘It’s a very neutral colour and exceptionally hard wearing.’
Millboard smoked oak decking was incorporated into a seating area by the pool to provide contrast, while Mendip grey chippings were used on the driveway for durability.
Planting provides the softness the scheme required and was specially chosen for its suitability to the site. ‘Some of the areas are in shade and some are full sun - around the pool, for example - while some areas are exposed to the water and are therefore quite windy, so the planting has been adapted for those conditions. It’s a whole blend of herbaceous perennials and grasses,’ says David. ‘We’ve even introduced some alpines and creeping plants along the edges to give that eco system look, rather than appearing too formally planted, it’s a lot more naturalistic.’
Photography by Anna Omiotek-Tott