Crown & Garter
Berkshire

We were asked for soft, low-maintenance planting, wildlife friendly and welcoming all year round, to refresh this 17th-century coaching inn close to Combe Gibbet, a notable landmark in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. The pub needed more outdoor seating for its many visitors plus an entertaining space for weddings and other events.

Lush new planting of fastigiate hornbeam and yew topiary cones transformed and ‘greened up’ the entrance, complementing the existing mature tapestry hedges and bringing height and scale.  Steel drinking troughs were upcycled and generously filled with lavender and geums for their jollity.   A pair of splendid hornbeam Niwaki in handsome terracotta pots now stand to attention outside the café.

The courtyard was redesigned, softening the harsh angles and providing year-round colour.  The original paving was retained, and circular enclosures of estate fencing were added to create ‘rooms’ for tables and chairs.   Wisteria, hellebores, tulips, alliums, and roses, in soft pinks and whites, bring a calming atmosphere which butterflies, bees and other pollinators as well as visiting guests have been quick to enjoy.   Flowering trees and fruit espaliers add a further floral dimension, whilst a beehive holly and topiarised box bring evergreen structure.  Multi-stemmed crab apples abundantly underplanted with fleabane are the finishing touch.

The pub garden path was remade into a gentle curve which leads to a new hornbeam hedge and archway to a secondary ‘room’ or event space beyond.  A beautiful Indian tent was purchased.  Stone thresholds were re-laid, and pathways were softly illuminated to pull the scheme together and link the pub garden with the front facade of this historic pub.   Drought-tolerant plants were introduced on a bank beneath an existing hawthorn, restoration pruned to allow more light and better views of the adjacent meadow so visitors could enjoy the rural scene.