Garden of the Week
Buying a bungalow set in 20 acres of neglected woodland provided an excellent opportunity for garden designer Fiona Edmond
When you have 20 acres to design and plant, structural, colourful and low-maintenance planting is key. Over the last 21 years, designer Fiona Edmond has developed the wild woodland surrounding her bungalow at Green Island Gardens in Essex into a series of differently-styled garden areas, with dramatic island beds and woodland paths snaking between elegant trees and lush, leafy shrubs.
“We loved the idea of living in the middle of a wood but when my husband Andy and I bought the bungalow in 1996, we found that many of the trees had fallen in the Great Storm of 1987 and were just rotting on the ground surrounded by a sea of brambles and sycamore seedlings.”
A professionally-trained garden designer by trade, Fiona started creating “a bit of a garden for the kids and dogs”. She cleared an acre of woodland nearest to the house and designed and planted the long terrace running along the front of the bungalow. Bedecked with potted acers, phormiums and clipped Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’, there’s a large seating area for family meals complete with arbour draped with Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’.
Outside Fiona’s bedroom is a Japanese-inspired garden. “It’s the first thing I see in the morning so I wanted it to look good all year round,” she says.
The rest of the plot was developed in phases to create a water garden, seaside garden and woodland garden. For each new phase, Fiona’s father, Robert, has turned up with a tractor, trailer and chainsaw. Fiona “couldn’t bear” to burn all the felled trees, so she fashioned the wood into a tree house, fairy house, seating, decking, arbours and even her kitchen units!
With a large space to fill, she created island beds of trees,
shrubs and perennials. She carefully chose groups of unusual plants that complemented each other and offered year-round interest, with autumn colour her particular passion. The soil is sandy and free draining, so Fiona imported several tonnes of rich clay soil to provide suitable growing conditions for acid-loving plants in some areas.
“I knew the effect I wanted to achieve and meticulously planned it on paper, but it took time,” Fiona says. She bought small trees in pots and grew them on, and waited for perennials to bulk up over the years before dividing and replanting them. “I had to wait patiently to see my planting schemes come to fruition,” she says.
Her black Labrador, Jessie, discovered the natural pond in the water garden after some prolonged wet weather. Fiona and her father then developed the pond, framing it with oak decking and a pergola walkway. This tranquil spot is a favourite with artists who love to paint the reflections of the surrounding acers, pieris, gunnera and eucryphia on the surface of the water.
Situated on a triangularshaped ‘land island’, surrounded by ditches, the garden enjoys a unique microclimate. “In summer it’s warm and dry, and in winter snow lies on the neighbouring fields but not in our garden,” says Fiona. Tender plants can be overwintered without protection.
A more open and drier space is provided by the seaside garden – a peaceful and private area – by laying down a membrane and covering it with gravel. Surprisingly, acers flourish in this unsheltered location. “The gravel keeps their roots constantly cool and moist,” Fiona explains.
Further away from the house, the planting has a more natural feel and grass is allowed to grow longer. This is epitomised in the wooded area to the north that’s recently been made accessible.
The house itself is a quirky building. The Edmonds’ long, thin bungalow has a central two-storey section, which was inserted after the previous owner got cold feet about sleeping downstairs.
Similarly, the Edmonds have gradually extended the house during their time there to accommodate their growing family, adding bedrooms on as each of their six children were born.