Different ideas
The desires of this married couple appeared at first to be in conflict with each other; the husband, a musician and philanthropist, uses their garden to throw many charitable events, and a small musical festival, to expressly showcase young talent. She is an artist and the gardener.
Constraints and solutions
The part of the garden I was asked to design was the second of the three terraces, and one of the criteria was that it must incorporate large enough spaces that a tent could be thrown up over it so it could be used as a party space. This constraint, as most constraints do in the end, became an aid to creativity. We had to sacrifice planting trees which would have taken up too much space, but in the end the solution was simple.
Held in … but only just
I took a motif from the doors in the house, embellished it slightly and dropped it into the garden. This gave us the framework we needed and we filled it with a plethora of billowing plants to make this a garden ‘held in’ but only just by its defining hedges.
Check out the Star Plants of Rowchester
