‘THERE’S SO MUCH TO BE DISCOVERED’

Dividing a large garden into different ‘rooms’ can turn an ordinary outdoor space into an extraordinary one

When art teacher Paul Minter and his partner Michael Weldon, a costume supervisor, moved to their Victorian property in east London, they were keen to create a garden from scratch. For the first couple of years, they surveyed the plot in all seasons and weathers before arriving at an overall plan. ‘The garden is very long,’ explains Paul, ‘so it made sense to create a symmetrical design.’

They both admire the formal yet quirky early-20th-century gardens such as Hidcote and Sissinghurst and wanted to copy them in their own plot, but obviously on a much smaller scale. Within the symmetrical framework, the planting could afford to be more informal, which gave them lots of scope as some areas of their plot were difficult. ‘Different parts of the garden have varying soil depths and amounts of sun, so growing conditions fluctuate within a small area,’ explains Paul. ‘Also, we didn’t want to be able to see the whole garden from the house.’

As a result, the 50 metre x 9 metre space is divided into three distinct, similarly-sized sections by a yew hedge and then a brick wall. The yew hedge started life as tiny plug plants, bought from B&Q for 99p each. Within a decade, the yews were 2.5 metres tall and had filled out to form a dense screen that separates the garden’s first two ‘rooms’, creating a dark green backdrop to the jewel-like flower colours filling the beds in spring.

The beds are edged in brick mowing strips that also provide a pathway in wet winters. There are a number of Whichford pots planted with box topiary, bulbs or annuals. This is all very different to the third ‘room’, which is a miniature woodland. ‘Now the garden is mature, it has the symmetry we wanted, but the informal planting has softened the scheme and made it feel magical,’ says Paul.