BALI PRINCIPAL AWARD WINNING GARDEN 2024
CLIENT BRIEF: To provide a stunning scheme for the client in the front garden of her house near Lingfield in Surrey. An enchanting, yet imposing 15th century farm house which occupies a large plot on the outskirts of the small village and situated on the crest of a hill, with stunning views across the valley to the rear. The rear garden has been lovingly designed and constructed by the client over a number of years, but the front garden has remained largely untouched and unloved, and now requires a major overhaul and re-design.
It is a Grade II listed building with many notable features and is officially listed with Historic England.
The original house had additions in the 17th century to the front, additions to the right in the 18th century and was extensively restored in the 20th century. The client has extensively restored the house since 1992 and is currently working on the west facing end of the wing which overlooks the courtyard area.
Within the core of the garden, it will need it to deliver on a number of levels: the design of the space will focus on style and elegance, with the use of clever geometry, architectural planting and the clever positioning of specimen trees and shrubs (multi-stemmed varieties). It will need to provide the client with a serene and tranquil space and one which will allow her to relax and unwind from her hectic business life - it will be a retreat or haven for her, where she can chill out in one of the several seating areas which we will provide. These seating areas will be located in a zoned space which will create areas that are used at different times during the day,
with morning sunshine and a coffee or a sheltered area for an afternoon cup of tea.
To assist with the feeling of relaxation and tranquillity, water will be used as a key feature within the space, either as a reflective surface, to create movement and interest within the space. The sound of running water and falling from height will be examined in the design process.
Lastly, there is a stunning view to the neighbouring church.
SITE CHALLENGES AND FEATURES: Before construction started, as the site was Grade II*, all of the hard landscaping needed prior approval from the Listed Building Officer. On top of this, the site was registered as being of High Archaeological importance, so all trenches and excavations had to be inspected by the Registered Archaeologist. This had the impact of delaying the build date into an autumn/winter build on what was a very heavy clay site.
While the water on the water on the site would be captured by the new large land drain by the house, the Contractor added additional drainage and raised beds where water would pool for too long, before reaching the drain.
The diagonal feature was the key design feature within the space. It was imperative that it lined up exactly with the spire, so both the Contractor and Designer spent many hours ensuring the setting out of the site was perfectly aligned with the spire and diagonal.
The rill needed detailed attention to stop water tracking out of the small waterfalls, as the reclaimed pavers were not ‘engineered’, so water could track along the uneven surfaces. The Contractor focussed on making small/concealed cuts on the waterfalls to keep the water within the rill.
CONSTRUCTORS COMMENTS: This borrowed landscape was used to create the feeling of a much bigger garden or a garden without boundaries (blurring the edges). With landscaping to the front of this listed period property including hard and soft landscaping and construction of a large reflection pool. The area was previously mainly lawn was design with a modern take on an Elizabethan garden in keeping with the period property. Despite the elegant finish this was a very complex build working on very heavy clay soils. There was a lot of work that is not initially evident including, soakaways/attenuation tanks and land drainage. A complex refection pool with sand, UV and chemical filtration. Complex level changes within the garden including traditional brick and rusted steel edging. During the build an old well was discovered and this was made into a feature and incorporated within the irrigation system to utilise ground water and improve sustainability of the system. Mature tree and a full planting plan was completed. Throughout the construction phase Landscape Associates assisting with fine tuning of construction detailing providing stunning results.
JUDGES COMMENTS: “This project is an excellent example of good collaboration between, client, contractor and designer. The changes in levels
across the garden have been well managed and the skilful use of metal edging have been used to sympathetically mask the changes in level. All hard materials have been skilfully installed. Care and attention have been taken to cutting in details in the paving, tight even joints. The water features have been executed to a high standard. A technically sensitive project, installed with pride and great care. Well done to all concerned.”
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