This beautiful period property was calling out for a planting design that matched its formality and grandeur. The existing planting was a combination of deciduous shrubs and herbaceous perennials, which was all a little mismatched. I felt it needed evergreen structure and formality to bring it all together. With the front garden, I chose a selection of topiary balls, in standard (lollipop) and lower shrub forms. We removed all the herbaceous planting to keep the design crisp and simple. In the back garden, I continued the topiary theme and introduced fastigiate Taxus baccata to continue the evergreen formal feel. To soften the back garden, which is used as a family space and for summer entertainment, I included a combination of robust and free flowering perennials such as Astrantia, Leucanthemum, Stachys byzantina and Acanthus, to deliver lots of colour and foliage interest over a very long period.
