A garden to make the most of outstanding views
Alresford, Hampshire
The clients view
"Anne's work is extremely geometric and clean in form, but her great talent is that she is able to make that fit into the landscape, without any jarring."
The Brief
To design an interesting garden and landscape for a large new house on a site with outstanding views over an unspoilt valley. As well as including a walled kitchen garden, swimming pool and tennis court, the design needed to provide a sense of enclosure and protection from the wind.
My design
One of my key aims was to visually unify the eight acre site, so that the landscape would appear to wrap around the house. To achieve this effect, part of the domestic curtilage was converted to meadow, while the formal gardens were kept very close to the house - with views framed by yew hedges, gates, and windows in the garden walls. I created a long west/east vista, extending out into the meadow, and framed by a pavilion set within a circular rose garden. A semi-circular ha-ha provides a level games lawn, and a new driveway to the north of the house conceals it from the road.