Blurring the boundaries Stonecrop House in the village of Wing in Rutland is one of seven gardens opening under the NGS on June 17. Prepare to be surprised, says Fiona Cumberpatch PHOTOGRAPHY: ELLI DEAN
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OUNTRY gardens in midsummer usually suggest hollyhocks, lavender and roses round the door. But Nicky and Matthew Lyttelton’s stunning home tucked away down a lane on the outskirts of the village of Wing in Rutland could not be further from the cliché. Built in 2012 on the site of an old plant nursery, the modern stone and glass house appears from the landscape like a giant sculpture, with folding ‘living roofs’ (planted with sedums or ‘stonecrop’, which gives the house its name) that seem to rise out of the ground and over its two wings. A large drystone wall, built from local Clipsham stone, acts as a thermal buffer. To the south of the property, huge glass windows overlook the garden with its large wildflower meadow and views of the undulating countryside. “We moved here from an old farmhouse in Hallaton,” explains Nicky. “When you were inside that house, you couldn’t really see the garden, so when we were thinking about the design of this one, we wanted to blur the boundaries between inside and out.” Matthew agrees, adding: “it is all about having more communication between the two.” The couple worked with architect Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young to realise their design. “We have always liked modern architecture,” explains Nicky. Inside the house, the timber clad ceiling follows the roof profile, spiralling over the main living rooms and rising to the glazed south side. The two wings of the building fit with the environmentally friendly principles behind the whole property: the main wing is heated for day to day living, with the second guest wing opened up when friends and family come to stay. They admit that the major project and two-year build was “a labour of love,” and exchange wry grins. The kitchen leads to a sheltered outdoor terraced area, with a Big Green Egg (a ceramic bbq, grill, pizza oven and low-and-slow roaster) in permanent residence. The central feature of the three quarter of an acre plot, though, is the wildflower meadow, which sweeps away from the property. At the time of visiting, it was carpeted with cowslips, by June it will feature a mass of ox-eye daisies punctuated with yarrow, sorrel, and a few cornflowers. “We sowed the meadow in autumn 2013 with a wildflower meadow mix,” explains Matthew. “Our soil is a bit too rich for ideal conditions, and it is still a work in progress, but it already attracts many butterflies, bees and field mice.” It may look beautifully wild and random providing the perfect foil to the angularity of the house, but the meadow takes some managing. Matthew mows paths through it, and it is cut down
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completely once a year. “Our favourite season for the meadow is probably June,” says Nicky. To the right of the house as you approach is a shady border, planted with euphorbias, hostas, Solomon’s Seal and hellebores. Over the fence scrambles a beautiful evergreen Clematis Armandii, with exotic white scented flowers. Other defined areas include a productive vegetable garden, with currant bushes, a small and recently planted orchard featuring apple, pear, plum, medlar, quince and cherry trees, and Matthew’s ‘tree sanctuary,’ an area that he is devoting to a collection of rare species. These include chequer trees (sorbus torminalis) with flame shaped leaves that turn red and gold in the autumn. Matthew has also planted ash trees, a conscious decision to help counter the threat of Chalara ash die back, a deadly disease which is predicted to cause widespread damage to the UK’s ash population. It’s a big space to keep under control. How do they do it? “We’ve always gardened, and we’ve grown into it more with age. In the summer, we each spend about 12 hours a week out here,” says Nicky. “I do most of the vegetable gardening, Matthew is the tree person, and we share the perennials.” She cites the late gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd and his home at Great Dixter, East Sussex, as an influence on their garden style. Positioned through the grounds are some intriguing modern sculptures which lead the eye. In the lawn area to the left of the house, is a striking work by Peter Beard, featuring three smooth ovals of Kilkenny limestone on a plinth. Nicky and Matthew have also created their own features, by leaving partially uncovered roughly hewn lumps of limestone which were uncovered when the house was being built, for example. It is reassuring to hear that even seasoned gardeners like Matthew and Nicky face challenges. The living roof, planted with sedums is stunning with its variegated reddish green hues, but maintaining it is not always straightforward. Planted into membranes, one area of the growth is prone to drying out, and another disadvantage is that the plant spreads voraciously from the roof into the garden beds. “It’s a continuous battle to control it,” says Matthew. The wind also creates challenges, but he is hoping that his tree planting will help to counter this by providing a barrier to the elements. They also regard the space as a work in progress, with many more developments to come. Working with nature, rather than against it, is clearly a guiding principle in this perfectly balanced marriage of the sleekly modern and the gloriously wild.