This large, semi-rural garden was designed for a family with older children who needed space to play, relax, and enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. Sweeping lawns, defined by crisp steel edging, allow for both informal gatherings and structured activities, including a discreet football area and a putting green with subtle ground lighting for evening use. Natural materials, from the limestone terrace to the brick-edged raised beds, connect the house to the garden and anchor the space in its countryside setting.

Planting is inspired by Piet Oudolf’s naturalistic style, with a focus on movement, texture, and long seasonal interest. Architectural evergreens like yew provide year-round structure, while swathes of grasses and herbaceous perennials such as Salvia, Phlomis, and Allium offer soft drifts of colour. The palette leans on foliage and seed heads rather than high-maintenance annuals, creating a luxurious yet manageable scheme that also supplies material for cut flower arrangements.

A wildlife pond and expanded mini-copse bring a wilder, more immersive quality to one side of the garden. Bog planting, including Iris, Astilbe, and Primula, surrounds the water, with carefully placed rocks and gravel paths that invite exploration. Pleached hornbeam and native hedging provide gentle screening while allowing borrowed views of the wider landscape, and multi-stemmed dogwoods add vibrant seasonal colour, especially in winter.

Closer to the house, a more formal layout accommodates raised vegetable beds, a glasshouse, and a timber pergola that supports climbing crops and outdoor lighting. A limestone path leads visitors through the garden, drawing the eye to focal points like an arbour seat. Designed to be beautiful, practical, and easy to maintain, this garden creates a rich, multi-layered experience for every member of the family.