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Brief This property is surrounded by parkland; mown grass and mature trees, consisting of predominantly oaks and sweet chestnuts. In terms of the garden, there was little left to speak of. The one key feature was the stunning wisteria walk that stood alone in the middle of a vast expanse of lawn. It led nowhere with nothing to ground it and give a sense of purpose. My client had four standard trees in containers, originally allocated for elsewhere, that were desperate for a ‘home’. She also liked the idea of constructing a ‘well’ from the reclaimed stone that originally came from the old Gate House, which they had renovated several years ago. The other request was to keep it low maintenance. |
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 With this brief, I began working on ideas, sketches and plans. I drafted several ideas, which became more and more detailed with the view that it was my job as a designer, to demonstrate what could be achieved. We could always pare back or simplify specific areas. Given the age and style of the house, it was important to me to create something that followed those same principles; structure and bones, to match up to the solidity and presence of the house. I wanted to create a sense of journey and fun, which I believe has been achieved. |
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| The garden was created and broken up
into ‘rooms’. A traditional pleached walk leads from the terrace
to link up with a double long border walk, bounded by yew and a
backdrop of the old kitchen garden wall. A bespoke iron gazebo was constructed, which supports climbing roses and clematis and provides a shady spot to sit, nestled within one of the borders. The borders are edged in low box hedging and punctuated with hornbeam obelisks. The planting is a mix of spring bulbs, perennials and shrubs. As the summer progresses the colours become hotter and brighter. Early spring the scheme consists of blues, lavenders, pale pinks, silver and white. Later on the fiery reds of crocosmia Lucifer, a mix of Dahlias and rich plums and purple gladioli take over.  |
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 A parterre garden was created to one side of the wisteria walk, with a stone well constructed at its centre, with a series of low box edged beds radiating out. Within these beds more hornbeam obelisks and the standard trees, provide height and structure.The other side of the Wisteria walk is a winding path that leads through a small arboretum, planted using a variety of interesting trees and shrubs, chosen for their leaf/bark/berries and fruit. The york stone and breedon gravel paths all connect, giving one options to vary the route from which each space is approached and enjoyed. |
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| On a lower lawn, a yew labyrinth was designed and planted, with a bespoke decorative iron structure at its centre, which supports a white wisteria and clematis. We took the decision to plant young plants, to create the hedges, (1,300) in the hope these would establish far quicker. These doubled in size within the first year of planting. |
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| Garden Open Day The new garden was officially opened in the summer of 2014.  |
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More portfolio studies coming soon... The Portfolio above shows a small percentage of the gardens I have created. We will be adding more to this section soon but in the meantime you can contact me to arrange a meeting if you would like to see more examples of my work. |
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Please contact me for an initial, no obligation chat if you would like to talk about your garden. I do understand how personal garden design can be and I would be more than happy to talk about your ideas and vision. Just email me, call me or message me on Facebook if you would like to book an appointment. Mobile 07957 445 057 Email info@catherineberkeleygardens.com |
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Welcome Background How I work Garden Design Services Portfolio Contact me |
 07957 445 057 info@catherineberkeleygardens.com |