This exciting commission was to refresh the planting scheme in an established garden in Monmouthshire that had been designed by a plantswoman, but had declined over the years with changes in ownership. We documented the existing plants and their condition and then produced a sympathetic planting design, in order to refresh this once award-winning garden. This involved relocating some plants that had been added in less then ideal locations and adding new ones, in order to create a more cohesive design. We also sourced and planted up all the new plants. Our client had a budget which allowed us to source larger specimen shrubs, which helped give some immediate impact.
The Brief – Planting Refresh
A mature garden offers a structure to work with, but often comes with challenges, as the new planting design has to work harmoniously with what is already in the garden. While we will always try to ‘save’ plants where possible, sometimes existing plants are unsuitable for the soil type or sun/shade conditions and are not thriving, or else their age and condition is poor, so the decision must be made to remove them. Older, inherited gardens and planting styles may not be suitable for current owners, either. This is why we always start a Planting Design with a full assessment of what is in your garden already and ask you for a lot of detail about your planting and maintenance preferences.
This established garden was no different, and full of interesting specimens, intermingled with later additions. It was also challenging for the current owner to keep weeds at bay, as large gaps in the planting had appeared as older plants had died off and not been replaced with suitable alternatives. The scheme overall lacked cohesiveness.
The garden has a sheltered aspect and much of it is very shady, which naturally dictates the type of planting we could consider adding. Pretty much making it a ‘woodland edge’ garden as far as the choice of plants were concerned. We not only had to consider the shade, but also the ability of the new plants to deal with soil conditions which would often be very dry, as the existing mature trees; a very tall, old stone wall also formed a rain shield.
Working with the existing planting meant moving some specimens to accommodate the new scheme. In the process making distinct planting ‘zones’ to further enhance interest as you walk through the garden.
