A sense of discovery
In a Surrey country garden, designer Amanda Patton banishes the winter blues with organic structure, atmospheric planting and practical design
Designer Amanda Patton has combined atmospheric planting with practical design in a country garden in the heart of Surrey
The first light of a November morning filters through the canopy of a mature sycamore tree, casting dramatic shadows in a garden that sits quiet and still. The days have grown shorter and a cool mist hangs in the damp air. The faint, brooding scent of decaying leaves suggests that this may not be a promising time of year. For the owners of this Surrey garden, the ominous feeling of winter approaching was once all too familiar, but in 2015, while completing the renovation of their house, they commissioned garden designer Amanda Patton to inject some vitality and structure into their outside space. The brief, says Amanda, was relatively flexible; the clients wanted a garden that worked for all the family, with plenty of year-round interest and winter colour.
From the outset, it was clear that the layout of the garden should change. The main challenge was the lack of instinctive direction and flow as the driveway directed visitors to the back of the house, rather than the front entrance, and the various areas of the garden merged into one
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another. Function and form were blurred to the extent that the garden lacked any strong character or atmosphere. In spite of this, says Amanda, there were some lovely specimen trees, in particular a blue Atlas cedar ( Cedrus atlantica Glauca Group) on the back lawn, which made for a handsome focal point and was central to the final design.
While developments within the house had created a more open layout, the opposite was wanted in the garden. Hedges of yew, beech, hornbeam and Portugal laurel were planted to create different areas according to use and location. Low hedges of box and lavender were used to define the desired lines of the garden, and paths and terraces were constructed to suggest a route of travel, as well as offer spaces for relaxation. “One should be able to use the garden intuitively – it has to make sense and work practically,” says Amanda.
After three years, the hedges, trees and shrubs are well established and shape the individual spaces within the garden. These are softened by beds of mixed herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses in almost equal measure, to give a pseudo-naturalistic style and informal appearance. Above all, the planting holds interest throughout winter and into early spring, when the shrubs are pruned and seedheads cut back. After the hard prune, early bulbs, including Galanthus nivalis, Muscari armeniacum and Narcissus ‘Thalia’, push up within the borders, accompanying flowering perennials such as Epimedium x youngianum ‘Niveum’, Helleborus argutifolius and Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’. “It is important that there is always something to enjoy, and something to anticipate,” says Amanda.
As with all gardens, time brings about change. The vegetable garden has grown in both size and production, additional hydrangeas (a favourite of the owners) appear in selected borders, and there are plans for an orchard. But there have been losses as well as gains. Shortly after construction was complete, the old cedar on the back lawn fell. The decision was quickly made to replace it with a younger specimen, in the hope that one day it will gain the stature of its predecessor.
In winter there is indeed much to enjoy and look forward to. The abundant greenery of the foliage recedes, allowing for a shift in focus. Shape and form become prominent, and the bones of the garden are revealed. As much as there is an opportunity to take stock, there is excitement and anticipation of what is to come.
USEFUL INFORMATION Find out more about Amanda’s work at amandapatton.co.uk