Private paradise

Wildflowers and multi-stemmed trees combine to create a wonderful feeling of seclusion in this Hampstead garden

A secluded London garden that makes the most of its enviable view

Which of us who has walked around the ponds on Hampstead Heath in north London has not paused to gaze across the reeds and the weeping willows and wish ourselves the owner of one of the homes on the other side? The position of the houses is enviable, with private access to the water’s edge and views of the heath beyond, but it comes with a certain drawback, namely, those people standing on the opposite bank looking at you in your garden. This was the challenge facing Henrietta Murray-Wicks when she was commissioned to redesign the garden of one of these homes. Her clients, a couple with three children, loved the plot’s proximity to the ponds and were keen to maximise that connection, but they also wanted a sense of seclusion. The brief was for a wild, natural, garden where they could appreciate the changing of the seasons, including from the interior of the house, paired with a clean, architectural approach. “The question was how to marry these and create that sense of immersion in nature,” says Henrietta.

There were other factors to take into account. First, there was no side access so all materials had to go up and over a specially constructed scaffold on the new extension to the house. And second, the garden was on two levels, the lower level in particular being very damp, so drainage and careful planting were essential.

The existing apple tree on the lower level has been complemented with two small, spreading Malus ‘Evereste’, underplanted with damp- and shade-loving plants – Digitalis lutea, Rodgersia podophylla and Aruncus dioicus – redolent of the pond-side location. This area is laid with gravel, partly to help with the drainage but also because “I like the crunching sound as you walk on it,” says Henrietta.

A multi-stemmed, umbrella-shaped Amelanchier x lamarckii (at 4m, the largest that could be carried in) has been planted on the upper level by the house. Together with the Malus and the borrowed branches of a wonderful magnolia next door, they create a canopy level and offer the sense of seclusion the clients were looking for. The main feature of the garden – a glorious flowering meadow buzzing with bees and set in a crisp framework of York stone and stacked yellow bricks

inspired by the new extension on the house – adds to this atmosphere. The meadow is unruly and unpredictable, changing rapidly from perhaps cowslips and forget-me-nots early in the season to yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and pinks (Dianthus plumarius) later on, before transforming again with ox-eye daisies and autumn hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis).

It is perhaps this sense of flux that makes the garden such a success. In autumn, the hornbeam hedge turns copper, before slowly revealing its sculptural branches. The meadow dies down to expose clumps of Sarcococca confusa hidden in its depths – the fragrance becoming stronger as the days get colder. And as winter sets in, the heath clears of people and the amelanchier drops its last crimson leaves, so the garden unveils its biggest trick – as the pond comes back into shimmering view.

Above Doors open on to the York stone terrace where the owners can sit in the shade of the amelanchier, which offers beautiful white blossom in spring, blazing red foliage in autumn and sculptural form in winter.

Below Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ (not yet in flower), Hebe rakaiensis, Hakonechloa macra and Pachysandra terminalis make an impact in a bed near the house. Trachelospermum jasminoides and a neighbouring clematis will eventually cover the wall and trellis.

Left The meadow mix came from Wildflower Turf (wildflowerturf.co.uk) and includes common knapweed (Centaurea nigra), ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) and sweet Williams (Dianthus barbatus).

Above The canopy of the Amelanchier x lamarckii in the foreground seems to knit with that of the Malus and the other trees beyond; combined with the meadow beneath, it shields the garden from the view of walkers on the heath opposite. Cleverly, it also hides the lower part of the garden, meaning that the whole space does not reveal itself all at once.

Above A tightly clipped hornbeam hedge provides an effective counterbalance to the wildness of the meadow. Henrietta likes the changing nature of hornbeam (from fresh green in spring to copper in autumn and bare branches winter), and its ability to cope with damper soils.

Below The lower more shaded gravel area allows a couple of chairs to be positioned overlooking the water. Steps at the far end lead down to a communal area next to the ponds.

Left In the lower part of the garden, a multistemmed Malus ‘Evereste’, is underplanted with a mix of shade- and damp-loving plants, including Hydrangea quercifolia, Digitalis lutea, Aruncus dioicus and Deschampsia cespitosa. The trellis on the boundary walls will age to a silvery colour.

Above Subtly underlit York stone steps, which use the same distinctive Petersen bricks of the new extension, link the smart upper terrace with a shadier gravel area that is largely hidden from view on the the upper terrace by the meadow planting. In this shadier area, a largely green planting pallete is lifted by the pale flowers of Digitalis lutea and Aruncus dioicus.