Our Garden

In the spring of 2005 my wife and I began to construct our garden. Enclosed by a scraggly perimeter hedge, our canvas was a 1000 sq.m (¼ acre) of grass that surrounded the house irregularly on three sides, with slopes crossways from east to west and lengthways to the north away from the back of the house. Beyond is a communal park and lake. The plot was exposed along both eastern and western boundaries - respectively a public path and the neighbours; while the topography was complicated by the twin slopes. A fence inside the hedge (which had to be retained because of local laws) provided additional privacy while the slopes were levelled in some places and the natural contours retained in other areas.

The overall design aim was to have the more structured and formal areas nearest the house, and the garden becoming more informal and natural with increased distance from the house so that the boundary between garden and the park beyond is as blurred as possible and the two become united as one. In terms of style we did not want to transplant an English garden to Denmark. Nor was this to be ‘my’ garden, but a joint project. So we developed our own ‘mixed’ style that draws on English, Scandinavian, and Far East traditions together with some exciting historical ideas that have fallen from favour but are still relevant and some inventions of our own.

Given the somewhat peculiar shape of the canvas, the garden is a series of separated but linked compartments which unite together to form an harmonious whole.   To the east is a Japanese-influenced viewing garden to seen from the house.  Instead of traditional stone and rock, it is surfaced with glass, and planted with shade-loving plants.  Beyond, a long path flanked by a wide herbaceous border terminates in the winter garden and an eye-catching water feature that can be seen from both house and garden.  From the western entrance a shade garden  leads to a pergola that    opens up into a lawn studded with bulbs.  In the centre of the garden, and enclosed by a living willow fence and flower beds is the private oval lawn.  Throughout the garden eye-catching features and special effects introduce modern touches of the unusual.