Exquisite detailed patio in the grounds of an Arts & Craft house
Guildford, Surrey
“What a beautiful sight the garden is. So, so happy with the whole project.”
This could be one of our most favourite gardens to date. We’re thoroughly delighted with how the design turned out and - most importantly - the client is wonderfully happy, too!
The property is a recently divided gatehouse in the outskirts of Guildford, dating back to the early 20th century. The principal architect (Alfred Burlingham) was a keen follower of Sir Edwin Lutyens and thus emulated the traditional, vernacular style of the Arts and Crafts movement in his work. This is characterised by well-proportioned but often asymmetrical buildings with steep roofs, wide porches, traditional stone and wooden materials, half-timbered gables, and nods to features of tudor architecture such as leaded windows and external (exposed) construction timber. All of these features can clearly be seen in this particular property.
So whilst a recent extension had been created to match this style, it was rather disappointing that the patio created at the time was done by simply filling the space within using nothing but a plain grey, uninteresting porcelain tile; at complete (and jarring) contrast to the beautiful detail of the original architecture. Worse still, it turned the south-facing patio into an excessive sun-trap; extreme heat and too much reflected light into the living area of the extension.
Our primary design consideration was to turn the patio into liveable, useable, practical space by mitigating the effects of the direct sun; the preferred option was to use roof-style trees to create a natural, living pergola to cast shade and shelter throughout the summer. Given the richness of the property’s quirky and charming architectural style, serious consideration was given to its heritage to provide ideas and inspiration for shaping and styling the external space.
We explored a range of orientations, shaping and pathways, and eventually honed in on a well-balanced design incorporating a central dining space beneath six roof-form trees, a separate lounge-seating area, and a series of pathways connecting various doorways to different spaces in the garden. Between these were plentiful planting spaces ready for filling. The planted/pathway area was extended outwards towards the main garden lawn, and new planting beds created a better sense of separation & enclosure between the spaces.
Further out into the garden, a new seating space was added to the existing ornamental sunken garden, and pathways & planting in the rest of the garden would create a later phase of its development.
Hard landscaping on this project began January 2024 by the ever-reliable JM Landscape & Design and was completed in just four short weeks. Their attention to detail and practical approach to all their projects is very reassuring. The main paving spaces were created using buff Indian sandstone with matching setts to edge and define the pathways. Decorative aggregate to complement the colour scheme filled the pathways.
Although the majority of the planting is pretty drought-tolerant, we installed an irrigation system to help the newly-planted trees, shrubs and plants establish themselves, and to run in times of excessive heat & drought.
Whilst the build was going on we (Mark Lenel Garden Design) installed six roof-form Crab Apples (Malus ‘Evereste’) to create the living pergola. This is a beautiful tree with all-year round interest; scarlet buds in April opening to exquisite white spring blossom; dark-green foliage providing shade through the summer; and yellow-bronze autumn foliage accompanying the yellow-orange-red crab apple fruits. In winter the leaves fall to reveal the branching pergola network and allowing more light through to the living space.
Looking to the rest of the planting, a small ‘olive grove’ of three differently-sized olive trees (including an existing pot specimen) created a point of interest away from the living pergola. Beyond this we looked at a range of planting styles and settled mostly upon a naturalistic, herbaceous approach with a balanced mix of evergreens, flowering perennials and ornamental grasses.
The strong, globe shapes of the pittosporum balls provide a solidity and anchor everything in place - particularly during winter - although we deliberately kept their placement asymmetrical and informal. We particularly liked the balance struck by the dark moody Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ versus the lighter, whimsical P. ‘Irene Paterson’.
In terms of colour palettes the client had a strong preference for blues; the range of perennials were chosen to deliver a sophisticated palette of blues, violets, and purples throughout the year, balanced by plenty of white, green and silver flowers and foliage. These included Russian Sage (Perovskia 'Blue Spire'), Masterwort (Astrantia major ‘Alba’), Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia ‘Caerulea’ and ‘Takion White’), Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro 'Veitch's Blue'), Bee Blossom (Gaura lindheimeri ‘Elurra’), English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’), Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Whispurr Blue’ (PBR)), Rosemary (Salvia rosemarinus), and Balkan Clary (Salvia nemorosa 'East Friesland'). We also introduced a few spots of direct contrast; the Achillea ‘Terracotta’ and Lupin ‘Chandelier’ for instance.
Groundcover and in-fill included Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) and a low-growing version of Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’).
The smaller perennials and grasses were planted in small groups and drifts, and almost all of the plants were repeated to a greater or lesser extent across the whole space, ensuring greater continuity and coherence throughout the area (rather than it appearing random and patchy).
Clematis ‘Multi Blue’ and Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea) were planted for training up against the white walls at the back of the patio space.
