PORTFOLIO
T
he grounds of a beautiful Cotswold country house were transformed into an inviting space for a young family, with safe spaces for children and areas for dining and entertaining, as well as topiary, structured borders and an extended lawn. Despite the overhaul, it was important that a traditional feel was retained through beautiful planting, local materials and craftsmanship. The brief The striking plans, from London-based garden designer Rachel Garrood, included several new terraces and pathways, a driveway, walls and seating areas, herbaceous borders, hedges and structural planting. The design required the complete demolition of the existing garden, as well as hard and soft landscaping, planting, and constructing several new spaces with clean lines and topiary. The Cotswold Garden Company liaised with the designer throughout, and was able to share its expertise in sourcing local materials. The garden was to be used by the family for the duration of the construction, so it was vital that it remained safe for the children, with working areas safely cordoned off.
1 Sawn Yorkstone terrace, with box topiary and steel edged planting beds 2 The garden before and under construction with huge topiary arriving on site 3 Finely coursed Cotswold stone wall, Yorkstone cobble path and pleached crab apples 4 Bespoke oak gate and steel edged hoggin path 5 View of the front of the property
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Materials and build Attention to detail was key. Locally-quarried Cotswold stone for the wall was measured and sorted to ensure it was coursed with the smaller stones on top, and the 6mm thick mild steel edging that made up the path, lawn and driveway edges was welded on site by The Cotswold Garden Company. New terraces were created with sawn Yorkstone paving, each individual piece cut to size, while sawn Yorkstone cobbles were used for the paths to the pool, and reclaimed Yorkstone cobbles from a local manor house made up a seating area under the umbrella trees. Sourcing locally, reclaiming and reusing materials was paramount, particularly because it helped to reduce the environmental impact of deliveries to the site. All excavated soil was analysed in The Cotswold Garden Company’s on-site ‘soil hospital’ and was improved by adding compost and manure. This reduced the need for imported topsoil and disposal. Equally, existing stone and concrete was broken up and used as subbase where possible, while any debris taken off site was carefully stockpiled so that it could be recycled as clean aggregate or subsoil. The Cotswold Garden Company used its local contacts to make sure specifications were perfect, including organising for its lighting supplier to do a night-time display to show how plants and trees could be lit, allowing the client to understand what was needed. The Cotswold Garden Company also designed and installed an automatic irrigation system and arranged for one of its suppliers to have bespoke oak gates made to the designer’s drawings. In a rural setting with difficult access, local knowledge was essential. This was none more obvious than when two lorries delivering topiary from Holland arrived a week early and got stuck on the access road; The Cotswold Garden Company rapidly made arrangements with a local farmer to free and unload them. Despite the access and delivery challenges, the project was delivered on schedule and in time for the client to showcase the impressive results at their annual summer garden party.
ABOUT THE COTSWOLD GARDEN COMPANY The Cotswold Garden Company is a multi-award-winning landscape contractor and garden designer with a reputation for outstanding work throughout the Cotswolds. It is one of the most experienced garden design and landscaping companies in the area, and the team has worked on numerous different projects, from cottage gardens and country houses to large estates and commercial commissions. www.thecotswoldgardencompany.co.uk
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19/07/2017 15:22