An artist-inspired north facing garden in SE London
I was delighted to be approached by artist Sarah to help plan the planting for her work-in-progress garden in SE London. She had worked with a local builder to create the framework of her garden, adding steps, two large sleeper-framed borders, a pergola and an outdoor kitchen area. She wanted to make the most of summer living with a core entertaining space for friends and their large extended family, and wanted a lush, tropical planting scheme to make her feel as though she was abroad, even in the unpredictable British weather.
This planting scheme presented a real challenge as Sarah’s garden is north facing, with some very tall existing trees which created additional shade. It was important to her to incorporate as many different types of foliage shape as possible, with deep textures feeding into her career as an artist, where nature is her key source of inspiration. Sarah has also travelled widely and lived in a number of different countries, including the USA and South Africa and has family members spread across the globe; she and wanted to reflect these different cultural influences in the planting choices.
We began by incorporating a number of ferns and grasses into the garden, including Onoclea sensibilis (know as Japanese ostrich fern, or the sensitive fern), Dryopteris filix-mas (a native fern to Britain which likes deep, damp shade) and Chamaerops humilis, a dwarf palm tree which can cope with partial shade.
To bring colour into the palette, we then added two Japanese maples, including Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’ which has stunning orange autumnal foliage which turns to a lime-green tone in summer. We complimented these orange hues with two Phormium ‘Maori Queen’, whose edges picks out the sunshine tone. To surround the steps down to the new outdoor kitchen, we added thyme and rosemary, which would both offer a beautiful scent and be easily available when cooking alfresco. We continued the lush foliage theme with two new evergreen Clematis armandii to grow up the new pergola, which would offer spring flowers and a beautiful jasmine-like scent.
It was wonderful working with Sarah who has a really instinctive feel for how she wants the garden to look and what plants she likes. We made several trips to the garden centre together so I could advise her on what plants would and wouldn’t thrive in her garden and soil, ensuring that spend wouldn’t be wasted on plants which had a limited chance of survival. The overall finished effect is full of interest and is a really welcoming space.
“Cat is a joy to work with! Her professionalism, enthusiasm, sensitivity and immediate grasp of what I needed was brilliant. It’s a pleasure to recommend her.”