This garden in Shawford is a landscape of rhythm and layering — a place where space is both held and released, framed through brick and softened by planting. Working from a detailed design, we were appointed to deliver the full landscape build across a steeply sloping site, transforming it into a series of connected levels that settle naturally into the land.
The house sits high on the site, and the garden responds with a structured descent. A series of paved terraces in Egyptian grey limestone step out from the rear façade, each one edged by red brick retaining walls that mirror the architecture in tone and detail. These walls not only manage level changes but also serve to anchor the garden, allowing every new layer to sit with purpose and weight.
Steps descend from the upper terrace in clean, linear succession — limestone treads, bullnosed and carefully laid, paired with traditional brick risers. The transitions are rhythmic and clear, with each level designed to feel like a distinct space within a larger composition.
At the centre of the design lies a generous lawn, flanked by deep borders and framed on both sides by a progression of low walls, clipped planting and wide gravel paths. This central axis is a defining gesture — a view that runs directly from the house to the woodland below, visually uninterrupted, yet rich in texture and detail.
Planting throughout the garden plays in contrast to the structure — soft, expressive, and ever-changing. Perennials, ornamental grasses and low evergreen forms bring movement and depth to the edges of each terrace. Lavender, salvia and geraniums dominate the midsummer palette, while structure is held through clipped box, yew and layered shrub planting that creates a sense of scale and permanence.
To one side of the garden, a secluded cedar hot tub is set into a bespoke timber deck, tucked between brick walls and hedging for privacy. It offers a quiet retreat from the broader formality of the main space — a place to pause and soak, surrounded by scent and dappled shade.
Material choices are rooted in tradition but delivered with contemporary clarity. Limestone, brick, gravel, and timber are handled with consistency and care. Each junction — between wall and path, paving and step — is cleanly resolved, giving the whole garden a calm, composed feel.
Discreet lighting has been installed to gently guide movement and highlight structure after dark. Low-level path lights and recessed uplighters bring the garden to life in the evenings without overpowering its natural softness. Light pools gently at the base of walls and across planting, offering a quiet sense of rhythm.
This was a technically demanding build, shaped by its levels and its relationship to the house. But the outcome feels effortless — a garden that flows with ease, grounded in geometry, softened by planting, and completely at home in its setting.