Kittisford, Somerset, UK
Private garden
This project involved the recasting of an existing 18th century walled garden set across a sloping field opposite the grade II listed house in Somerset, England.
The pre-existing garden was simply a grass slope with a scattering of fruit trees that were mostly dead or falling apart. With a slope dropping 7m from front to back the initial challenge was to carve out some flat usable spaces. Four terraces were formed divided by planted banks.
Each terrace explores a different horticultural approach and spatial order. The more complex and organised top terrace is filled with fruit, vege and herbs with a productive glasshouse built against the north wall of the garden. The second terrace is comprised of broad rectangular plant beds filled with floriferous perennial plants and ornamental grasses. The third terrace is laid out with vast blocks of tall miscanthus and eupatorium around a central area where a pool has been earmarked for the future. The bottom terrace is an orchard of fruit trees underplanted with a wildflower meadow and grass paths. A naturally occurring spring has been redirected to flow down a stone rill that steps down the terraces at the west end of the garden finishing as a jet of water on the pool terrace.