‘THE VIEWS ARE FABULOUS ALL YEAR ROUND’
This medium-sized plot was revamped to rival the surrounding scenery
Photographer Nicky Wagstaff was delighted with the lovely views over the Thames when she moved to a riverside property in Shepperton, Middlesex. However, the uninspiring garden needed renovating and she new it would be a challenge. ‘I wanted to strike a balance between preserving the views, while also creating a beautiful but lowmaintenance space,’ she says.
To add to the dilemma, the house stands 1.3 metres above ground level, dominating the garden, which can be viewed from a picture window stretching the full width of the property. ‘You see the entire garden in one glance, so the view needs to be lovely, every day of the year,’ says Nicky.
She wanted a contemporary space that matched the house but was sympathetic to the natural setting. After several abortive attempts at a layout, Nicky consulted a garden designer. ‘He advised that, in order to preserve the views, taller planting should be on the boundaries, increasing privacy from neighbouring gardens,’ she recalls.
The designer also rejected curves in favour of a clean, stylish look, with straight lines and a rectangular lawn. This acted as a counterbalance to the mixed borders containing evergreens for year-round structure, perennials and bulbs for seasonal splashes of colour, and ornamental grasses to blend with the natural environment.
‘As a result, the design seamlessly links the house with the riverbank,’ says Nicky. Several English oak cubes form a stepped, sculptural backbone running through the planting to a summerhouse.
Work started in autumn 2005 and tonnes of old concrete paths, stone slabs and ailing shrubs were cleared, while barrowloads of topsoil were imported to replace the worn, gravelly soil. A carpenter built a riverside deck and installed a new louvred fence along one boundary, creating a uniform backdrop to the longest bed. The main lawn was levelled and prepared for reseeding to take place once the beds were planted. In the interim, the lawn was covered with old sheets of plywood and hundreds of small, pot-ready plants placed on top. Then, come one Easter weekend, Nicky positioned the plants in their respective beds, according to the designer’s plan. ‘The planting took a full week and, with all the bending and digging, I could barely stand by the end of it,’ she says.
But the result was worth it. Today, by late May, the ‘oak cube bed’ erupts in a froth of purple alliums, aquilegia, erysimum and foxgloves swaying above evergreen box balls and hebes. Beside the deck, purple veronicastrum attracts droves of bees, while the longest bed peaks later in the summer with verbena, salvias, sedum and grasses, their seedheads lasting long into winter. ‘This garden is a great joy,’ says Nicky, ‘and the views from the window are glorious.’