Family Garden, Oxfordshire
A large, neglected garden overlooking rolling countryside. The brief was to retain much of the lawn, giving generous space to play and to create a country garden which was full and romantic and which would look comfortable in its setting, not encroaching on the fine view.
A stand of quince trees, three multi-stemmed amelanchiers and pairs of upright yew pillars form a framework for this soft but richly coloured planting scheme. Seductive groups of claret coloured lilac and billowing Euphorbia characias frame the specially commissioned benches. Rosa mutabilis flowers from April until December its range of colour from cherry red to pale yellow, jewel-like against the darkness of the yews.