Missouri Meadow in my Cambridge Garden
Inspired by a trip to RHS Wisley last summer and the area adjacent to the new glasshouse, I decided that the last part of my own garden to be developed would be planted in a Missouri meadow style..jpg)
The meadow part is a little misleading as this area only about 5m x 4m and punctuated with a formal path and clipped yews, so it will be a very contrasting area of the garden. This experimental area of the garden is south facing and will be extremely dry so in theory should be perfect for a low maintenance planting such as a Missouri Meadow.
Work started in late winter with the clearance of several very large shrubs and the construction of the Breedon gravel paths and planting of the yews. A Missouri meadow seed mix is available from Jellito seeds but needs an autumn sowing as it is supplied unstratified (stratification is the exposure of the seed to winter cold) and as by the time the time the clearance was complete was too late to sow in situ.
I therefore went about sourcing individual species that are found in this type of planting and started sowing them in trays. Echinacea paradoxa, Dianthus carthusianorum, Echinacea pallida, Oenothera tetragona, Penstemon barbatus and cobaea and Eringium agavifolium have all been sown. Germination has been quick but due to the cold and lack of sun the plants are still no more than seedlings!
The area for the meadow has been prepared and is now ready for planting. All I need now is some warm weather to bring on the seedling so they can be planted out.
I will continue to post on this experimental planting throughout the summer.
Paul Dracott Garden Design Cambridge
Formal Garden Design Cambridge Part 1
I have been involved with this project now for fourteen months and finally now the formal front garden is being constructed.
.jpg)
The project came about through interior designer Hugh Jamieson, as his practice At Home Interiors was managing the renovation of this detached Georgian town house in Maids Causeway central Cambridge.
The house and garden had become very run down and our first job was extensive clearance of over grown shrubs to allow access for the contractors who were to increase the head room in the basement by 600mm. This meant extensive excavation and waste disposal.
The biggest impact on the garden space was the creation of two very large light wells either side of the front door. These make the garden slightly smaller than the adjacent gardens but this will be offset by the inclusion of decorative railings and cast iron spiral stairs.
The client wished for the garden to be low maintenance, neat and tidy and above all formal. The neighbouring gardens vary in their level of formality and it was decided that the garden should have a very formal framework of box hedges and standards but be blended with the less formal gardens either side by retaining the informal hedged boundary. This blending was enhanced by informal planting of perennials including fox gloves, Japanese anemones and various ferns.
The scheme would be completed by replicating the original timber lattice work fencing originally fronting all of these properties.
With the design finalised work on constructed began in early April.
Paul Dracott Garden Design Cambridge
Recent Comments