Office Garden
Hertfordshire - near Hitchin
2022 | complete
“Each month brings new surprises and fresh interest.”
The right plants in the right place for year-round colour and texture.
Thoughtful planting has transformed this modest but smart office garden.
BEFORE
AFTER
office garden Design brief
I was commissioned to work with the existing hard-landscaping and redesign the planting in this small office garden of a converted chapel building situated in a Hertfordshire village.
redesigned Planting
As the existing shrubs had outgrown the space and were overshadowing the grass, these were removed and the fence was painted a dark slate grey.
Two Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ were planted to climb up the fence and a sweep of lavender was planted around the existing lawn, interspersed with sun-loving perennials such as Echinacea purpurea, Erigeron karvinskianus, Gaura lindheimeri and Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’.
To add movement and lightness to the borders Stipa tenuissima and Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ were included.
The garden before redesign and planting began.
Shrubs had outgrown the borders.
Colour and interest re-established
Plants positioned in place.
Echinacea purpurea and Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’
The plants are beginning to establish themselves a few months after planting.
Two years after planting, June 2024
Plants for year-round interest
Winter structure is provided by evergreen Ilex crenata ‘Fastigiata’ and the evergreen climber Trachelospermum jasminoides.
Pops of jewel-like colour are provided throughout the year by allium sphaerocephalon, Dianthus carthusianorum, Verbena bonariensis and Nerine bowdenii.
“We gave a sufficiently wide brief to allow Maeve to consider the whole area afresh but with the guidelines of lowish maintenance and ensuring the end result was not too thirsty.
We are thrilled and delighted with the outcome which offers all that we wished and more.”