Anne Byrne
This country style garden design project found clever design solutions for a sloping site, from creating seating areas to planting.
In this article we cover:
- What is a country style garden and which sites is it suited to?
- What the design challenges of the site are
- How the garden design incorporated the seating areas
- Hedging tips and special features
- Top tips to deal with sloping sites
- Garden design plans and inspiration photos
Building your dream home is an absorbing and time consuming undertaking, so it’s not unusual to focus on the house itself and worry about the outside later. But in this case, it was clear from the outset that a careful plan for the garden was required.
The site sloped from left to right across the property, so level areas had to be created for the seating areas, driveway and paths, and the design had to incorporate a grass slope and raised mound running along the left-hand boundary, to separate the garden from the road just outside.
With a large extended family visiting frequently, the seating areas needed to fit different sized groups comfortably, with a separate but linked dining and barbecue area and an area with lounge style furniture placed to catch the last rays of the evening sun.
This was achieved by linking the two areas and running a hedge across the paving in between the two to act as a divider.
Hedging
Hedges are often considered in relation to boundaries, but by using them as an architectural element within the garden, they have many more uses.
In this garden, hedging acts as a green dividing wall, a backdrop for colourful, country garden style planting, and as a protective barrier alongside planting to soften the impact of the prevailing south westerly wind. It’s also used to create a separate kitchen garden and along the raised mound at the roadside boundary as a screen offering privacy from passing traffic.
Green beech (Fagus sylvatica), used here, changes throughout the seasons and retains its leaves in winter after they have turned brown, but many evergreen plants make a good hedge too.
Consider the size of hedge you need (the height and width), and the rate of growth when making your choice. Vigorous, fast-growing plants will provide a tall hedge quickly, but will need more regular maintenance and trimming than smaller, slower growing species.
Country style garden
A country style garden was preferred by this family, so plenty of colourful shrubs, flowering perennials and climbing plants twining over a pergola were all used to achieve a pretty, inviting look.
The ridge or mound at the edge of the garden to add an extra safety barrier inside the wall is clothed on the road side with ground cover planting – low growing, spreading shrubs and perennials that spread out quickly and cover the ground, keeping weeds down and needing little to no maintenance.
A long winding path meanders in a loop through the garden, offering the chance to explore and encouraging a sense of invitation and discovery.
Self-binding gravel is a good, cost effective option for a long, curving pathway, and allows a gentle wander through the garden without stepping on wet grass. It will also come in handy for three little bicycles and scooters.
Special features
A separate kitchen garden for growing fruit and vegetables was included in a corner of the site, sheltered from cold winds by a sturdy hedge.
As there are family links to the surrounding land, apple trees grafted from trees on the home farm will be added for sentimental value (as well as fruit). This is a lovely way to provide a physical link within the garden to previous and future generations of the family.
A dome made from living willow will grow very happily here and offers lots of play opportunities for little ones.
Mature beech trees already on site are incorporated into the design, with carpets or drifts of early spring bulbs to bloom beneath in February and March, helping early pollinators and bringing cheer to the chilly start of the year.
This garden design is a useful example of working successfully with the space you have, whatever its challenges – with careful planning even the trickiest site can be transformed into a garden for family and friends to enjoy.
Top Tips
Think of hedging as an architectural element within the garden – it has many uses besides lining the
boundaries.
Incorporate plants from your former home. It’s easily done and is a lovely way of creating a link between past, present and future homes, and family members. In the old days many of our grandparents would take ‘slips’, or cuttings, and grow them into plants for their new gardens.
Consider the country garden style. It’s a broad church and ideal for a countryside home, creating a relaxed atmosphere to complement a new build home and at the same time anchoring it in its rural setting.
English