A room in the garden, Great Somerford
This month, I visited a project half an hour away in Wiltshire that was finished nearly twelve months ago and is coming up for final sign off.
My first impression on entering the garden was a feeling of wonder at just how much everything had grown - a bit like seeing a child after a long absence and wondering how tall they have become.
My eye was immediately drawn to the far end where the garden room building (pictured below) nestled comfortably into its surroundings. To my left was the upper terrace, a new area of garden that connects immediately with the house, the old roses in full bloom, rambling up the side of this old rectory. The new planting created a froth of colour and texture along the new path to the back door.
Dark square-cut slate defines the dining and seating areas and a large concrete water trough encloses the space. I discovered that the new spaniel puppy liked to stand up on the bench and fish, so a temporary latticework has been put over the trough to protect the goldfish - there are some things you just never can foresee as a designer!
We moved to the garden room, passing through the newly planted Mediterranean garden, where giant alliums skyrocket above the mounding silvery foliage and drifts of deep blue salvia. This wooden building set at the end of the garden overlooks a paddock and river beyond. It’s a snug place to hang out in winter with an outdoor kitchen. The family make me a cup of coffee.
It is wonderful to see how this family are now fully enjoying their space and completely at ease with their surroundings. They even had friends visiting for the first time in a year, something of course that should not feel unusual but this year felt quite epic. This garden was, after all, designed for entertaining and playing in.
I just have time to discuss the planting with the gardener and his team. We look at where there are gaps to fill, what will need to be divided later in the season and finally take the plunge and agree to start shaping the topiary cubes. Gardens take time to evolve and this is no exception, I can’t wait to come back and see the progress later on in the season.
Rachael Emous-Austin (BA(Hons) PGDipLA CMLI TechArborA MSGD) is a landscape architect, professional garden designer and arboriculturist at Austin Design Works.
Rachael has been in practice for more than 20 years and is passionate about plants. Her skill is painting with planting, placing nature at the core of every design and creating spaces that endure time. She is the Gloucestershire Representative for the Landscape Institute South West branch, building connections between landscape practitioners and designers within the county.
