GARDEN PARTY
California’s relaxed inside/outside style influenced the design of this Surrey garden, making it ideal for summer entertaining
This outside space, inspired by California living, is designed for outdoor entertaining
Having spent several years living in LA, artist Armi Maddison and her husband Ian, a communications consultant, wanted to replicate its outdoorsy feel in their new home in East Molesey, Surrey. It was no easy task, as the property is a Victorian cottage that wasn’t set up for modern living. But they’ve achieved a tranquil balance between old and new in a space that features a walled courtyard with a blend of contemporary planting, salvaged treasures and furniture built by Ian, plus a studio for Armi, which is linked to the house via a covered veranda that doubles as a dining area. ‘Our outdoor season is lengthened in this sheltered south-facing zone,’ explains Armi.
‘In the evenings, we use an overhead heater or gather around the fire pit until the small hours.’
The original cottage had been empty for four years before the couple bought it, and the garden was overgrown. A huge redwood and six mature leylandii blocked out light, ivy and grasses roamed free and the ground was covered in crazy paving. ‘It took a lot of imagination to see past what was there,’ says Armi. ‘The only saving grace was a mature Japanese maple that survived neglect and is now a beautiful centrepiece in the courtyard.’
WOW FACTOR
Armi and Ian began by updating the cottage to create a more contemporary house, leaving only the traditional brick façade, which is in keeping with the street’s architecture. The new building has been designed to give a ‘wow factor’ panoramic view of the garden from the moment you step inside.
‘The house is contemporary, secluded and totally unexpected,’ says Armi. ‘Floor-to-ceiling windows open on three sides of the property making the garden a natural extension to the interior; it’s a tranquil outdoor space to enjoy in summer and a beautiful focal point from indoors in winter. Neither the house nor the garden would work as well without the other.’
CREATING A LAID-BACK DESIGN
‘We wanted a garden that worked from all sides and viewpoints,’ explains Armi. ‘Fortunately, the maple provided a starting point, and gave us the idea of creating a raised, almost square bed, bordered and contained by French oak sleepers. The tree now casts dappled light on to drought-resistant plants beneath.’
Raised beds keep the soil and the gravel that covers the ground separate, while also providing structure, additional seating and a home for a variety of low-maintenance plants that thrive in the loamy soil. ‘I love self-seeding plants,’ says Armi. ‘There are aquilegias, the daisy-like fleabane, alliums and Mexican feathergrass; one of a number of ornamental grasses that move in the slightest breath of wind.’
Armi adds that many of the plants in her garden have special significance: ‘The perennial wallflower “Artist Paintbox” was originally a cutting my mother gave me, and others have been gifts from gardening friends. Our garden is low-maintenance, with ornamental grasses, plain-leaved or variegated sages, a cardoon with leaves of a silvery grey, “Bowles’s Mauve” wallflowers and phlomis – the brown seedheads look lovely in autumn, along with the feathery seedheads from grasses. I often collect favourite flowers and leaves to use for printing.’
As an artist, Armi loves to surround herself with things that bring joy and look beautiful. ‘The ever-changing colours, the textures, the shapes and light found in this little haven satisfy all of that,’ she says. ‘It has become a deeply personal, special place that Ian and I love to share with family and friends.’
SALVAGING AND REPURPOSING
Many of the items that give the couple’s garden its strong sense of individuality and uniqueness come from the demolished cottage and outbuildings. The dining area wall, for example, is faced in wide boards salvaged from the cottage, while the corrugated iron that clads one side of the garden shed and its door is old roofing. ‘The three old galvanised water tanks used as containers were rescued from the undergrowth in the original garden,’ says Armi.
Other treasures were found on trips to local antiques markets – for instance, the feeding trough, now converted into a pond, and two window mirrors set on the wall above the dining table. ‘Anyone sitting at the table and facing inwards can see the garden reflected in the mirrors,’ says Armi.
Wherever you find your own treasures, always thoroughly clean containers and drill drainage holes in the base. Then add a 2cm layer of gravel before topping with compost. Lately, copper containers have become very popular, especially if left unpolished, to allow the natural verdigris patina to develop.
Armi and Ian visited Beth Chatto’s garden in Essex to seek inspiration for drought-resistant, low-maintenance plants. The most challenging area in which to establish plants is the deep, dry shade beneath the maple, but Armi has discovered ferns, dwarf acers, hellebores and heucheras that grow happily there.
‘Hellebores and heucheras are both so attractive for their variety of leaf shape and colour,’ she says. She now gives foliage and texture as much consideration as flowers, developing a colour palette that brings subtlety, interest and variety to the garden. ‘I also love the occasional pop of a marigold orange or hot pink geranium,’ she adds. ‘Clashing can work!’
Among the most reliable plants is pheasant’s tail grass, which grows in sun and shade, the rusty leaves equally at home in dry shade beneath the maple, or cascading out of an old water tank alongside fleabane and perennial wallflowers. And an area of dry shade would not be complete without euphorbia, with its lime-green heads that erupt in spring. For sunnier spots, Armi loves gaura for its resilience and the movement it brings over such a long period. The variety ‘Whirling Butterflies’ has long stems of tiny butterfly-shaped white flowers that fall gracefully.
HOW TO GROW IN DRY SHADE
Before planting, thoroughly soak the rootball and slot into a deep hole, half-filled with moisture-retentive compost. Water weekly until established. Improve moisture retention by creating a dense ground cover of foliage. Mulch heavily with bark chippings in spring.
Brighten the foliage in shady areas by choosing variegated varieties of ground elder, periwinkles or spindle.
During heatwaves, drench the ground every 10 days to draw roots deep down.
Thoroughly dig over the area, removing perennial weeds and digging in compost.
Rake the ground level before covering in a permeable, weed-suppressing landscape fabric, such as Groundtex Polypropylene Weed Membrane.
Consider planting a backbone of easy-going evergreen species, such as sea pinks, hebes, grasses, euphorbias or lavender.
Add spontaneity with self-seeders such as poppies, hellebores, honeywort or verbenas. For each plant, cut two crosswise slits in the membrane, dig a hole and plant, then tuck the membrane around the stem. After planting, conceal the membrane with a 7cm layer of gravel. Add pebbles in assorted sizes to create textural interest.
Create pathways by fixing lengths of wood or paving slabs into gravel.