Contemporary elements blend with traditional style in a garden layout designed for novice gardeners in a modern countryside setting
A New Wildlife-Friendly Garden at Park House
Nestled beyond the pool house on the north side of Park House, a stunning new greenhouse and informal kitchen garden has been created, offering a vibrant display of soft fruit and vegetables, as well as spaces for relaxation, entertainment, and play for the homeowners and their three children.
This contemporary garden, designed by Robert Myers, was installed in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown. The garden's design is a harmonious blend of the old and the new, referencing the bold glass-fronted extension and a historic diagonal path that forms the main axis through the garden, leading to an elevated paved terrace with breathtaking views over a series of perennial flower and grass beds.
The garden sets the scene ablaze with colour from midsummer through to autumn, with an array of ornamental grasses and pollen-rich perennials. Among the plants gracing the garden are Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', Sesleria autumnalis, Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination', Agastache 'Blue Boa', Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', and Penstemon 'Raven'. These plants not only provide a visual feast but also draw in wildlife and increase biodiversity in the garden.
In spring, the beds are flooded with tulips, and by May, there is a succession of alliums, euphorbias, and geraniums. The water tanks in the garden, made from Corten steel and lined with black polyurea to prevent corrosion, create a smooth reflective surface that mirrors the sky and scudding clouds. They are drained and cleaned periodically to keep them in pristine condition.
The walled garden surrounding the pool includes more perennials and grasses, ensuring a rich and diverse habitat for various garden creatures throughout the year. The garden offers habitats for wildlife, with hedges and trees for nesting, water to sustain many different species, and climate-resilient planting to support insect populations.
Sharon and David maintain most of the garden themselves, with help only for trimming their boundary hedges and mowing the meadow and grass paths. The expanse of lawn on the south side of the garden references the original historic design and offers long, uninterrupted views from the house over the whole site.
For those looking to encourage wildlife into their own gardens, some easy and effective ways include creating water features like ponds or bog gardens, planting robust, perennial flower beds and native grasses, incorporating habitat diversity and change of levels, avoiding pesticides and chemical treatments, adding features that promote slow, creative engagement, providing food sources such as native plants with berries and seeds, and following principles derived from Myers’s contemporary garden approach, emphasizing naturalistic planting, structural diversity, and water integration.
Many of the trees in the old orchard had disappeared or were unproductive, and have been replaced with a range of apples, pears, and walnuts. The garden at Park House is a testament to the beauty and biodiversity that can be achieved when a garden is designed with wildlife in mind.
[1] RHS - Gardening for Wildlife: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=466 [2] Myers, Robert - Contemporary Gardens: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contemporary-Gardens-Robert-Myers/dp/184994272X
- The new wildlife-friendly garden at Park House, skillfully designed by Robert Myers, incorporates a garden design that harmoniously blends the old and the new, promoting a vibrant display of plants such as Calamagrostis x acutiflora, Sesleria autumnalis, and Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination'.
- This contemporary garden, installed in 2020, offers an array of pollen-rich perennials and ornamental grasses that not only provide a visual feast but also attract wildlife and increase biodiversity within the garden.
- In addition to plants, the garden also includes water tanks made from Corten steel, providing a reflective surface that mirrors the sky, and introducing a crucial water source for numerous garden creatures.
- Sharon and David, the homeowners, maintain most of the garden themselves, following principles derived from Myers’s contemporary garden approach, emphasizing naturalistic planting, structural diversity, and water integration.
- For those seeking to encourage wildlife into their own gardens, following Myers's approach, along with creating water features, planting native plants, incorporating habitat diversity, avoiding pesticides, and adopting sustainable-living principles, can lead to a garden teeming with life, similar to the wildlife-friendly garden at Park House.
