Photography by Jethro Marshall.
When Vanessa Barlow and Jethro Marshall bought their midcentury house in the British coastal town of West Dorset 11 years ago the existing large lawn which was surrounded...
...by mature trees shrubs and beech and laurel hedging and newer bamboos to the east of the house provided the perfect sheltered play area for their three children
The remodel carefully respected the design and materials of the original house, and it was important to have a garden that worked harmoniously with the architecture too.
In the winter the established grasses hold their structure while Cornus ‘Winter Beauty’ acts as a striking backdrop to Stipa tenuissima and pheasant’s tail grass (Stipa arundinacea).
Ornamental grasses, euphorbias, and alliums border a wooden deck.
Verbena bonariensis adds a purple accent. So Meacham created a scheme that included lots of the airiness of Chatto’s planting but using plants that are able to cope with the soggy conditions.
“We made sure that a good proportion of the plants would be robust enough to cope with the retentive soil, while still providing the Mediterranean feel,” Meacham says.
The German biergarten table and benches on the terrace were painted white and perfectly echo the feel of the house, the couple bought the furniture at Bridport Antiques Market.
The overall look, Meacham says, is as much “prairie” as “gravel” garden, with striking grasses, such as cortaderia, repeated through the space.
Ornamental grasses planted in drifts are reminiscent of Midwestern prairies.
Because of the heavy soil, lots of work was put into ground preparation. The terracing helps drain the heavy clay soil and land drains were also installed in the sub soil.
Before
Eight tons of new topsoil was bought in and the land was sculpted along the terracing to form slightly raised sides along a central depression, which would become a “dry river bed” and also the central walkway though the garden.
After
The central walk is occasionally broken up with specimen plantings of Pinus mugo ‘Mughus’ or Skyrocket juniper, with the new planting slightly raised on both sides.
Tucked away on the grounds is The Garden House Studio, a small rental that echoes the midcentury style and decor of Jethro and Vanessa’s house and offers a perch from which to explore a gorgeous corner of England.