“Our garden looks fabulous all year round”
Grasses, cornus and colourful evergreens are the mainstay of this elegant winter garden. Owner Sarah Pajwani shares its story
Grasses, cornus and colourful evergreens are the mainstay of this winter garden
Few gardens have such drama and majesty in winter as this colourful example in rural Berkshire. “You can see the garden from every window of the house,” says owner Sarah Pajwani, who lives here with her husband Sal. “That’s why it’s so important that it looks good all year round.”
The Pajwanis moved here in 2006. “We bought the house from a couple in their 90s, and it was pretty neglected. It was our job to bring it into the 21st century. The garden was just a field with the odd clump of f lowers, surrounded by mature trees, and with a scruffy little pond that nevertheless attracted all sorts of wildlife.
“In 2008 we hired garden design company Acres Wild to create a new
design blueprint. I wanted their ideas on how to link the garden to the house and outbuildings, where to create borders and paths and so on,” says Sarah. “They did all the clever design work; I wanted the fun of choosing the plants!”
To inform her choices, Sarah collected tearsheets of gardens she liked. “Every one of them had grasses in it! I also knew I wanted maximum interest all year round, but the borders had to be low maintenance.”
The couple made slow but steady progress, with Sarah hiring contractors every year for 10 years to excavate her new planting areas and pond. “The first few years were a steep learning curve as
They did all the clever design work; I wanted the fun of choosing the plants!
I’d never had a garden this big. The first border was a massive 8m (26ft) at its widest – it would have been impossible to have done it all in one go.
“Right from the start I was thinking about using structural plants for winter interest. So, I filled that first border with five large Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ and eight Stipa gigantea for a big winter presence, rhythm and harmony, with other grasses in between such as Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’, and plants with pink and purple flowers.”
As the garden progressed Sarah learned from what had gone before, prioritising plants with winter appeal such as fierystemmed cornus. “I’ve planted ‘Midwinter Fire’ in two huge arcs in an open position where it catches the low winter sunlight. People can’t help but say ‘Wow!’ when they see it.”
Grasses and evergreens are other winter allies. “People think of evergreens as nondescript shrubs that you prune into a big blobby shape,” she says. “But they can be much more interesting if you choose them for colour, texture and shape – even scent in the case of sarcococca. My favourites include Euphorbia characias wulfenii, evergreen ferns, mahonia, Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’ and epimediums for their bronzy-green foliage. Grasses help to soften and lighten the evergreens, in a range of tones from brown and straw to silvery white.”
Sarah’s Grass Island has an ethereal grace in winter. “Big fountain grass Pennisetum macrourum looks lovely planted beside the seedheads of Greek oregano. I love to grow herbs here – not just for the kitchen, but for their f lowers and seedheads too.
“When we moved in there was a huge clump of pampas grass right in the middle of the lawn. When the diggers came one year I asked the contractors to try moving it. It nearly fell to bits, but actually it very quickly bounced back and now we have four clumps at the corners of the pond. It looks spectacular in winter – but they definitely need a lot of space.”
Planting in the box parterre is simple but colourful. “In spring it’s full of crocuses, daffodils and tulips, which then give way to perovskia, whose lavender f lowers are very sculptural in summer, then turn a ghostly white over winter. They always look like they’re coated in hoar frost, even when they’re not.”
The new pond is kidney-shaped. “Within weeks we had ducklings,” says Sarah. “How exciting is that?! It also has frogs, tadpoles and newts, which attract herons. It became a watering hole for so many birds during the drought last summer – even at 6pm Mr and Mrs Crow would come down for a paddle. So although I garden for my own pleasure, it’s good to know that, actually, the local wildlife think it’s their home too.
“These borders and the wildlife pond are the most cosy and intimate parts of the garden, where cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ brings real warmth into the heart of the garden. And on those bright sunny winter days when the sky is an electric blue, the effect is quite astonishing.” ✿
Evergreens can be interesting if you choose them for colour, texture and shape