Hillside: planting design - part 4

Planting Design - Part 4

Planting to the West of the House

• The planting to the west of the house connects directly with the kitchen garden, so I wanted it to feel productive, while retaining its ornamental value. The kitchen garden gives way to two herb beds, and the planting beyond that includes some culinary plants as well as more aesthetic choices.
• I've kept the colours subdued here in order not to compete with the view beyond. Silvery sage and lavender combine with soft greens to blend in with the landscape.
• Low plants ensure the view isn't obstructed, and also allow for the structure of the garden to remain discernible. A native hedge planted on top of the breezeblock wall helps to control the wind in this space, and also creates a little sheltered corner. Among the small herbs and light planting, I introduced a Tetrapanax, which offers a pleasing contrast and focal point.
• The wall flanking this garden soaks up the hot sun that falls in this space, creating an almost Mediterranean climate. This directly informed my planting choices.

Structural Elements

• Structural elements hold this garden together visually; trees have been placed in corners and low shrubs clipped into domes. Owing to layered planting, this area rarely has a 'down' time and is in bloom for most of the year.
• The old barns sit next to the orchard, and I wanted the planting here to feel right for these large purpose-built buildings. It's deeply informal, and slightly different every year. I introduce things that I think will work well, and then steered them as they self-seeded. However, this is a difficult way to garden, as you need an intimate knowledge of how the plants will respond and react in order to be able to edit the self-seeding process.
• Plants that are great for pollinators were chosen for this area, encouraging wildlife and biodiversity into the space. It also enables the space to work in harmony with the fruit garden.
• Nurturing the soil will provide a good foundation for a garden (see p 48) and generating compost to add to it is a great way to keep it healthy. Our compost heaps are an important part of the way Hillside function, and provide a wonderful way to recycle waste from the garden.
• As long as they're not noxious, all our cuttings go onto this pile throughout the year. We then flip the heap over in February and allow it to rot down for a further year before use.
• In the summer, I plant pumpkins over the top. As well as providing a crop off the compost heap, they also help to protect it and keep the moisture in.
• The compost heap will be ready at the end of autumn, to be used over the course of the winter in the vegetable garden as a mulch, and within the beds deeper into the garden.
• Compost is a great addition to any garden. Not only is it something that is completely recycled, but it protects the soil while also improving its structure and holds moisture while also opening up heavier ground.

Plant Directory

• Mint
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Fennel
• Lavender
• Sea Kale
• Oreganum
• Tetrapanax
• Datura
• Iris
• Eryngium
• Echinops
• Bay tree
• Ficus Afghanistanica
• Carthusianorum
• Agrostemma
• Galtonia
• Rhubarb
• Artichoke
• Lovage
• Honeysuckle Graham Thomas
• Stipa Gigantea
• Dianthus Carthusianorum
• Oenothera
• Lychnis
• Thalictrum Flavum Glaucum
• Miss Willmott's Ghost
• Verbascum Violetta
• Cephalaria Scabious
• Yellow Rattle