Site
A steep garden adjoining a listed Georgian villa on the slopes of Bath, to the front and to the rear.
Brief
To create moments for our client (an experienced planting designer) to experiment and play.
Response / Design
Organic borders were designed to give variety - some traditional loam-based borders, for herbaceous perennial and matrix planting, some for medicinal planting, and some are deep aggregate for flood resilient and drought resistant plants. We designed and built a deep reflective pond with a separate regenerative zone of aquatic plants was designed with ecologist Jason Mitchell to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that promotes biodiversity by creating another habitat. Around every corner is a burst of life and vibrancy. The very bottom of the garden houses a greenhouse by Alitex for tender plants and for our client to enjoy looking up at her new playground on a rainy day. The front garden had particular challenges as it needed to carry established screening but sit upon a vault that needed repair - this provided an opportunity to create an extensive green (and blue) roof - we used a combination of leica and soil to allow the local spring water to move through easily, keep weight down and sustain experimental new planting. The steep back garden was very challenging in its topography and location, brilliantly managed by Alex at Down 2 Earth Landscaping and Tom Trouton. The final result anchored the garden beautifully, reflecting and enhancing extraordinary views and creating a wonderful plant playground.
