The river Tees flows right beside this extensive garden which has wonderful views of the surrounding Durham countryside. Set in a beautiful Teesdale valley this walled garden also contains a listed eighteenth century folly.
Our brief was to create a garden that would sit comfortably in such a historic setting whilst providing an exciting journey for its owners. The extended seventeenth century cottage was to be married to its surroundings in a sympathetic manner using natural landscaping materials and low maintenance planting.
The front garden has been divided into a cottage garden, to compliment the oldest part of the house, and a formal garden with rectilinear hoggin paths which mirror the architectural layout of the later extension. Six timber edged raised beds contain traditional low box hedging and a central crab apple underplanted with Luzula sylvatica, Alliums, and Fritillaria imperialis. A honeysuckle covered seating area sits at a low point in the wall from which the river bank can be viewed.
Passing through a gated fernery into the woodland garden, a generous shady planting bed sits beneath two mature Larches. Here a reclaimed yorkstone patio catches the last of the evening sun amongst shade loving ground cover plants such as Ajuga reptens and Galium odoratum. A group of Japanese Acers are sited here under whose canopy the folly can be glimpsed in the distance.
From the panoramic kitchen windows there is a stunning view across the circular lawn, this gently slopes down to an natural elongated pond with a simple rustic timber bridge. The far bank is mass planted with red dogwoods and coppiced willow to give a flaming winter backdrop. On the opposite side a bench provides a seated view back to the house across the children’s play area which is defined by long meadow grass.
This garden is currently under construction.
