“The garden looks good every day of the year”
This chic modern garden in Oxford is full of seasonal interest yet is low maintenance at the same time. Designer Sarah Naybour reveals its planting secrets
This chic, modern oasis has good structure and is full of low-maintenance plants
November is a good month to assess the ‘bones’ of a garden. In this urban plot on the outskirts of Oxford the structure is especially dramatic – thanks to its angular granite paving, architectural tree silhouettes, sculptures and a horizontally slatted fence. “It was just a normal urban garden when we moved here,” says owner Dieuwke van Es, who lives here with her husband Henk. “It had grass in the middle, a shed and seven beech trees that had to be removed because they were very close to our neighbour’s house wall. We didn’t want the lawn either – we’re not that young anymore and we didn’t want to spend time mowing it.” Dieuwke contacted garden designer Sarah Naybour to come up with some design ideas. “We wanted a lowmaintenance garden with year-round interest and a subtle palette of pinks, purples, blues and mauves,” says Dieuwke. Sarah was delighted to take on the brief. “Dieuwke and Henk are a very design conscious couple,” she says. “They’re minimalists and their attention to detail is strong. For instance, it was important that we could match up the granite plank pavers with the colour of the interior flooring, for continuity indoors and out. We had the pavers cut to the same size as the floorboards and aligned them carefully for a seamless effect, either side of the large glazed doors. “Dieuwke’s interior colour scheme is very chic and minimalist too,” says Sarah. “My approach outdoors was to keep the palette very restrained with little accents of colour, selecting fewer plants but then repeating them in large quantities. “One of the plants Dieuwke did want was Alchemilla mollis, as her mother always had it in the garden. Another plant I’ve used that works really beautifully is Anaphalis triplinervis ‘Summer Snow’. Its tiny white flowers almost look dried
“My approach was to keep the palette very restrained with little accents of colour”
minimalist design (clockwise from top left) Epimediums colour up in autumn; structural evergreens, trees and sculptures enliven the planting areas; Dieuwke and Henk’s home; low box hedges run along the sightlines with gaps to accommodate Dieuwke’s sculptures; the pavers were matched indoors and out for continuity
in summer, above a mat of hairy green foliage. The flowers last right through to autumn, and look like a dusting of snow. “For winter there are lots of evergreen ferns and a mix of hellebores. People don’t realise how much variety there is among hellebores but their evergreen foliage is really useful.” Epimediums are another good source of groundcover. “They look fantastic under trees,” says Sarah. “They colour up in autumn, providing a range of subtle tints just as hydrangeas do.” Pretty Pennisetum thunbergii ‘Red Buttons’ adds a gentle, wafty accent among easy-care shrubs such as fragrant
sarcococca, climbing trachelospermum and low box hedges. “I’ve used the box along the main sightlines of the garden,” explains Sarah. “They’re designed to be all the same height, even though the garden naturally dips in the middle, with a sunken terraced section. I included breaks in the box hedges so Dieuwke can position her sculptures in the gaps.” Trees provide height and seasonal interest in the garden. “We kept a few, including two plums and a rowan, which all provide good autumn colour. We added a couple of multi-stemmed Amelanchier lamarckii for their architecture and an evergreen magnolia at the far end. “The hit-and-miss fencing is made from treated softwood and cut extra wide for a more industrial feel,” says Sarah. “The fact that it runs horizontally creates the visual impression that the garden is longer than it really is.” Sarah has lots of design tips for those renovating a small city garden. “Avoid curves if the garden is small or narrow,” she says. “Straight lines and angles work far better. But, never put a path down the limited palette (clockwise from above) Plums and a rowan provide good autumn colour with a multi-stemmed amelanchier for architecture; a blue-grey bench echoes window frames; white flowers of Anaphalis triplinerv is ‘Summer Snow’ pop among the evergreens; Henk’s studio; heathers and epimediums add splashes of pink
middle because it cuts the space into two halves. Asymmetry feels more spacious.” Dieuwke loves Sarah’s design and says the family use the garden all year round. “All the views from indoors are lovely; the garden feels very much like it’s part of the house. The two spaces seem to melt into each other. Our sliding doors are so huge that even with the windows closed you can’t really see where the house ends and the garden begins. When it’s raining we love to sit under the loggia – the sheltered overhang just outside our patio doors – looking out at the garden. “Although I love the garden, I’m not a keen gardener so it had to be very, very low maintenance. We have an excellent professional gardener, Geoff Burke, who comes to look after the garden every four to six weeks. With his help, every single minute of the year there’s something to look at and it always looks pretty. I can’t praise Sarah’s design highly enough.”
“The horizontal fencing creates the impression that the garden’s longer than it is”