Barn Garden
Hampshire

Once a farmyard, we gave this garden, in the curtilage of a listed building, a complete makeover. Our client had just a few specific requests: to create a calming, symmetrical space as an antidote to their busy life, to screen cars and incorporate a wildflower lawn.

Our research revealed there was originally a farmyard wall running across the garden space and, at a right angle, there was an old York stone path that we wanted to keep. Inspired by the crossing lines of a Mondrian painting, the garden’s design became clear.

Beech hedging was introduced to shield cars and define a dedicated area for a low flowering lawn. Framed by pendulous silver birches and softened with generous planting of wildlife-loving nepeta, we repaired the original York stone path and designed a new oak gate, creating a sense of arrival to the front door. New stone terraces for entertaining were linked with a clay paver path, subtly nodding to the site’s rustic history and picking up the colour of the low lead roof, to create a new ‘line’ within our design.   Large contemporary clay pots, planted with evergreens and underplanted with hellebores, verbena and spring bulbs, alternate with yew cubes along the house front, bringing more structure and symmetry to the space.

The borders are a rich blend of perennials including echinacea, monarda, astrantia and verbena, alongside glamorous ornamental grasses, surrounding a formal lawn. As a focal point, a pair of multi-stemmed hawthorn elegantly frame a charming metal bench, creating an inviting view from the main terrace. An abandoned, riveted water trough, a clue to the garden’s farmyard past, has been repurposed and planted with herbs and edibles.