White Garden for Historic Property, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK

White garden for a stunning Grade II-listed historic property in rural Wiltshire, UK

Recreating a garden from historic documentation is great fun. The client, who recently bought this stunning Grade II-listed historic property, knew that a white garden existed in one area of the estate. After months of research we found the original planting plans, undertaken by a previous owner.  The client wanted a new, ‘modern’ interpretation of the garden. Re-using and re-purposing old bricks the design is a formal garden with brick pathways and feature brick detailing. The formal area leads onto a wild meadow, which is mown to create lawn pathways. By borrowing the landscape beyond, the garden feels much larger.

Planting

The planting palette is limited to white, green and silver. The new herbaceous borders are filled with colour, shape, texture, form and movement. The planting is informal and naturalistic, and with the introduction of ornamental grasses and modern-day cultivars the original white garden has been recreated with a modern twist. Feature trees and additional specimens are underplanted for year-round interest with spring and autumn bulbs, as well as hellebores and epimediums. The garden is deigned to be a restful space, divided into garden room with the use of evergreen yew hedging. Carpets of underplanting and bulbs minimize the amount of weeding. This is now a biodiverse garden helped by the creation of the meadow. Natural springs keep the soil moist throughout the year, and any excess water is collected in buried rainwater harvest tanks. The garden is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Bug hotels, bat and bird boxes are sited around the garden to attract as much wildlife as possible.

Writing my book Royal Gardens of the World (available from Amazon) helped considerably with the research for this garden.

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