RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2013 – Garden #3

A Room With A View – Designed by Mike Harvey (Arun Landscapes)

Designed and built on a budget of only £15,000, the owners of ‘A Room with a View’ have had a kitchen extension. To save money, the excavated topsoil from the extension has been used to lift the garden towards the new sleeper deck viewing platform rather than being removed afterwards, which would have been expensive.

Reclaimed sculpted sleeper stepping stones lead up to the deck, which is partially surrounded by a reclaimed timber screen and a rusty steel curtain. The muted tones of the wood and metal are reflected in the green, silver and brown colour palette of the planting scheme. The sculpted timber seats and metal fire make this the perfect spot to savour a beer in the evening and enjoy the views.

A gold medal winning, wonderfully understated garden with big impact. The subtle planting palette includes pencil-thin Cupressus sempervirens which punctuate an understory of Rosemary officinalis, Santolina ludoviciana, Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, Gaura lindheimeri, Eryngiums, Echinaceas, Verbascum and Anthemis punctata.

For more information go to http://www.arunlandscapes.co.uk

Author: Mike the Gardener

Freelance gardening writer, consultant and designer. Mike Palmer is a passionate and professional plantsman, offering services in garden writing, consultancy and garden design. Mike is also available for garden and plant related talks and presentations. Mike has been a professional horticulturalist for over fifteen years. View all posts by Mike the Gardener