Exotic evergreens provide structure for diverse planting in soft greens and whites, taking a London garden to West Coast America and beyond

Adam Sykes found his dream house project by chance along an unlikely street in southwest London: an intriguing example of Modernist architecture surrounded by Edwardian houses. Evocative of the Californian-style homes in and around Los Angeles – where Adam had lived – he got straight to work beautifully remodelling the interior of this 1960s’ Brutalist relic. From the very start, however, one eye was turned to the garden: “There was a very conventional and formal city garden here originally; I wanted to redevelop it into something much softer and less rigid, to complement the house.” Having previously worked with Andrew Eden of Town and Country Gardens on his former roof garden in South Kensington, Adam asked Andrew to begin developing an initial planting design. “The first thing I said was, ‘you’ve got to have palm trees’,” notes Andrew. Coastal evergreens are the defining feature here: a magnificent fan palm ( Washingtonia robusta) stands close to the house, furnishing an open-plan kitchen/dining area with an air of laid-back exoticism, along with a shimmering black pine, spiky Trachycarpus and a feather-leafed jelly palm ( Butia capitata).

To say that this garden has a distinctive West Coast America influence, however, would be telling only half of the story: the planting palette is much more diverse and eclectic than that. A full lap of the garden – which encircles the house with contrasting sections – will draw one past shrubby Mediterranean herbs, towering Australian tree ferns, shade-loving perennials from the forests of Japan and Korea, Canary Island echiums and the tightly clipped box of Old England. “We have everything from cycads to Austrian pines here,” says Andrew. Yet it all draws together with impeccable coherence. Cream-yellow scabious ( Scabiosa columbaria subsp. ochroleuca) marries beautifully with Miscanthus and Pennisetum grasses, while the grey-blue of a dwarf juniper creeps out on to a paved pathway edged with bright Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘Columbus’, bee-smothered sea holly and lofty Verbena bonariensis. Something of an anchor for the overall scheme, Hakonechloa grass is used to great effect throughout the garden, a continuous thread stitching all elements together. “The only things

I kept from the previous garden are the arbutus, acacia and magnolia trees,” says Adam. Thrusting from the magnolia’s deep shade are bright anemones and the unusual pinnatifid foliage and luminous yellow bellflowers of Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana Group – striking eastern woodlanders embellishing a London garden staple.

For both client and designer this garden is an ongoing project and experimentation is an integral component. Colourful perennials, including Gaura, penstemons and Salvia nemorosa, are trialled in between an evergreen structure that offers year-round interest. “The space has developed massively over the four years I’ve had it,” says Adam. “There was far more paving to begin with, but we’ve gradually reduced it as the planting has expanded.” Andrew describes this evolutionary process as an “entertaining and fulfilling journey”, during the course of which only a couple of plants have faltered. “An Edgeworthia and a Bismarckia palm proved just a little too tender for this location. Otherwise, pretty much everything seems to do very well here.” This is partly thanks to an investment in improving soil quality. Having inherited poor London clay, Andrew’s team rotovated in tons (literally) of soil conditioner. “Perhaps we integrated a bit too much in some places,” says Andrew. “The thalictrums grew to over seven foot tall! But the conditioner is necessary to keep everything happy.”

From the paved driveway – softened by naturalistically plug-planted Erigeron daisy and knapweed – Adam leads past a seated terrace and recalls peaceful afternoons and enjoyable evenings entertaining guests (“the palms lit up at night look absolutely spectacular”) and relaxing with the windows slid open to the garden (the house walls are mostly glass). Rosemary and bunchgrass spill in from the borders, charmingly blurring the threshold. We stoop below a vigorous Tetrapanax on our way to the rear of the house, where an entirely different scene awaits us. Here, a more refined planting palette consists of loosely grouped tree ferns ( Dicksonia antarctica) underplanted by lush Hakonechloa grown tall under the shadier conditions. The effect is wonderfully calming, intended to be viewed, almost like an installation, through the wide, single-storey windows. The surrounding walls are draped with star jasmine ( Trachelospermum jasminoides), trapping a glorious fragrance that carries indoors. Scattered Buxus balls and a stand of bright Himalayan birch spring from a gravel mulch, further complementing the green and white planting scheme.

The rear garden’s pared-back feel acts as a soothing contrast to the more elaborate front, where an element of drama plays out in the continuously shifting colours. “I like the fact that it’s such eclectic planting,” Adam enthuses. “Every time I come home I’m delighted by this garden – visitors are just wowed by it.” Above all, however, he is pleased to have conjured a more than fitting setting for his Californian-style refuge.

The clean lines of Adam’s strikingly Modernist, single storey house, designed in 1963 by architects Peter Foggo and David Thomas, are softened by a mix of colourful perennials and vigorous ornamental grasses, including Miscanthus sinensis, which integrate seamlessly with cycads, pine and palm trees to create a relaxed, transcontinental feel.