Outdoor Rooms and Soft Plantings Fill an English Country Garden
When a mature garden needed a redesign, a landscape designer blended old and new to create harmonious outdoor spaces
When landscape designer Ed Oddy met the owners of this large property in Surrey, England, they’d already lived in the house for quite a few years, and the garden was mature. “The trouble was, it was a garden that had been added to piecemeal over time rather than designed as a whole,” Oddy says. “There was no unity or flow. It wasn’t very harmonious in terms of the planting, so the clients were looking to change that.”
This view is of the back of the house as seen from the dining area Oddy created. On the left-hand side, you can see some of the mature existing trees and hedging. “There was a lot of tree surgery. They were previously encroaching more into the garden,” he says. “We then planted lots of different green textures beneath them, mostly evergreen shrubs and ground cover perennials and grasses.”
Existing climbing plants on the back of the house, as well as the lawns, also were incorporated into the new design. Of the latter, Oddy says: “We brought these back together, as they had been very disjointed.” The planting seen here in the middle of the lawn was originally a border that extended the whole width of the garden. Oddy reduced it. “This opened up the view and focal points,” he says.
The view seen here is through a steel gate and a purple beech hedge that Oddy installed to divide the back and side gardens. The gate has an arch over it to support newly planted climbing roses. In the foreground, the planting includes crocosmias and some late-season flowering plants, including yarrow (Achillea sp.) and red-hot poker (Kniphofia sp.)
Existing climbing plants on the back of the house, as well as the lawns, also were incorporated into the new design. Of the latter, Oddy says: “We brought these back together, as they had been very disjointed.” The planting seen here in the middle of the lawn was originally a border that extended the whole width of the garden. Oddy reduced it. “This opened up the view and focal points,” he says.
The view seen here is through a steel gate and a purple beech hedge that Oddy installed to divide the back and side gardens. The gate has an arch over it to support newly planted climbing roses. In the foreground, the planting includes crocosmias and some late-season flowering plants, including yarrow (Achillea sp.) and red-hot poker (Kniphofia sp.)
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The owners picked this pergola to go over a new dining area Oddy paved and planted. Oddy planted more yarrow and red-hot poker around the pergola for continuity. He also added black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sp.), lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) and ‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’).
You can’t see the climbing roses yet, as they’re not established, but Oddy chose two varieties, climbing ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Alister Stella Gray’ — white and a creamy yellow, respectively. The first was chosen to brighten up the dark hedge in the background, and the second was to complement the planting underneath. “The idea is that over time, [the pergola will] be enveloped with climbing roses,” he says. “The dining area is south-facing, so this will make it a scented, shady spot.”
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You can’t see the climbing roses yet, as they’re not established, but Oddy chose two varieties, climbing ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Alister Stella Gray’ — white and a creamy yellow, respectively. The first was chosen to brighten up the dark hedge in the background, and the second was to complement the planting underneath. “The idea is that over time, [the pergola will] be enveloped with climbing roses,” he says. “The dining area is south-facing, so this will make it a scented, shady spot.”
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Two espaliered greengage plum trees (Prunus domestica) are also planted around the dining area, visible at the back left of the pergola here. These separate the area from the kitchen garden beyond and help to screen the shed. “We painted the [existing] shed black, so it recedes into the background,” Oddy says. “Also, the planting really bounces off it, so you get a lovely contrast.” The paving is riven sandstone.
This view looks from the house toward the dining area and kitchen garden. This bed is closest to the house, and Oddy filled it with plants including coral bells (Heuchera sp.), agapanthus, purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis), stonecrop (Sedum sp.) and Santolina.
The color palette echoes that of the bed close to the dining area. “We wanted the view from the evening terrace to be across those two beds, so we gave them similar tones,” Oddy says.
The color palette echoes that of the bed close to the dining area. “We wanted the view from the evening terrace to be across those two beds, so we gave them similar tones,” Oddy says.
The colorful chairs seen in the distance here make up a seating area; there’s a low table just out of view. “The owners bought the set, and we wanted to replicate the colors in the planting, so we used similar warm tones,” the designer says.
Here is the view from the other side of the pergola, showing the kitchen garden. “Our job here was to enclose this area and connect and unify it with the garden as a whole,” Oddy says. He added plants in the beds around it, including lavender (Lavandula sp.) and catmint (Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’), which he planted next to paths and as edging around the whole garden.
This photo was taken in the front garden, showing the gate to the side garden. Climbing roses will eventually cover the gate’s metal arch and tie in with those on the pergola. “It will look amazing,” Oddy says.
He planted the beech hedge next to the gate; the mature trees behind were existing. “We used a bit of borrowed landscape, as the garden backs onto green space. We tried to bring that in with the planting,” he says.
He planted the beech hedge next to the gate; the mature trees behind were existing. “We used a bit of borrowed landscape, as the garden backs onto green space. We tried to bring that in with the planting,” he says.
This view shows the front of the house. Oddy introduced a planted bed here, similar to the ones in the back garden — it includes purpletop vervain, coral bells (Heuchera sp.), salvia and cranesbill (Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’). In the foreground is an ornamental pear tree that was existing, and just beyond the barely visible arch is an evergreen southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) to screen the neighboring house.
Wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) also makes an appearance at front of the house, along with more purpletop vervain and catmint spilling onto the gravel. The climbing plants are evergreen star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).
Oddy replaced an existing, much narrower, path leading directly from the road to the front door and lined it with catmint for the scent.
The gravel drive was existing.
The brickwork leads out to the road. The rocks bordering the beds here were taken from an existing rockery in these sloping beds and repurposed. An existing beech hedge separates the garden from the road.
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Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four with teenage children
Location: Esher, Surrey, England
Yard size: About half an acre
Designer: Ed Oddy
There were lots of established plants that the homeowners wanted to keep, but also many they didn’t like. “It wasn’t a full overhaul — more that we wanted to edit the whole garden to make it work for them,” Oddy says.
The key changes were the creation of two seating zones and improving the side entrance to the garden. The side entrance links the space seen here to the front garden, which Oddy also designed. He added a wider path to the front door and streamlined and harmonized the plantings throughout.