Relaxing swimming pool garden with sauna, Sandwich, Kent, UK

The house is a listed property with a large garden, set in the middle of the town of Sandwich. The brief is to design a relaxing swimming pool garden, with an outside sauna and a utility area for gardening equipment. The pool is a black-bottomed ceramic pool with a decked area and additional seating on resin-bound aggregate, all surrounded by drought-tolerant planting, with a mix of trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials. A hidden safety pool cover covers the pool when not in use. To provide privacy, 4 new Betula nigra trees will added along the boundary wall, while offset buildings create hidden gardens. The outdoor sauna sits in its own secluded garden with a strong Moroccan influence. Laser-cut metal screens provide shadows and privacy, while a reflective water basin and water blade create a soothing experience. 100% handmade clay pavers bring warmth and texture to the pathways. The pavers echo the Dutch gables of the house and the cobbled streets found around Sandwich. in the utility area, burnt ochre cobbles will be used for easy maintenance.

This new swimming pool garden is to blend into the existing garden, with a view to extend the designs into the remaining parts of the garden. The swimming pool ties in with circular hot tub, while the materials used and the planting reflect the wider environment.

Naturalistic planting mimics the natural flora found around Sandwich, Sandwich Bay and the neighbouring wetlands, including gradations of calcerous sand-dune; salt marsh, brackish and freshwater areas, old meadows and arable lands. Cultivated versions of wild forms to prevent seeding and cross pollination.

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