Our first visit to Saxmundham revealed a once loved but overgrown space, void of interest and dominated by a large crab apple tree. Our clients worked from their home office which had French doors opening onto the courtyard and the brief was simple, create a space which roused work-life balance, a space which can be enjoyed from the open French doors but also drew you out to enjoy a morning cup of coffee in the garden.
The design was built around a central pathway from the French doors terminating with a large reclaimed galvanised trough in front of the aged red brick wall and planted with a multi-stem Osmanthus burkwoodii to give year-round interest. The paths formal feel, lined with Euonymus hedging drifts gradually into the rest of the planting which becomes a layered and softer as you amble around the gentle curves of the gravel paths which connect the 2 gates at either end of the courtyard.
As work started on the garden the old bricks were lifted and re-used to edge the pathways and large areas of local cobbles made up areas of the hard landscaping which reduced the need for imported stone. Waste removal can be a large environmental and financial cost in garden creation and here we managed to keep all soil onsite and clean and re-use it. Water from the corten water feature provided a wildlife drinking and bathing opportunity and the large crab apple was replaced with 3 multistem trees which suited the smaller space.
