COMMERCIAL GARDEN DESIGN
This 14th Century Abbey on the banks of the River Thames near Henley was a unique and neglected beauty and it needed several visits to fully understand the site, its location and the inherent problems both the gardens and the house suffered from.
The owners were keen to get the Abbey exterior back to an appearance that would be correct for the Abbey whilst accommodating modern living with vehicle parking and property maintenance becoming integral to the design.
It required great sensitivity to retain the patina and period look of the property whilst bringing it up to modern living. Before we could get creative with a new garden design, we had to address the problem of annual flooding of the courtyard.
With expert technical advice, extensive work into designing a sub-terranean flood relief system was proposed and carried out, only then could we get creative and design the gardens. A formal 16c century style fitted beautifully into the space with generous wide paths connecting the door ways and a route to the new garages.
Low box plant hedging sets out the ground pattern and frame many borders of loose flowering perennials and ferns. Spot planting of specimen clipped beech trees punctuate the formality and look stunning at night time under subtle lighting.
Selective Porphyry granite setts were imported from Italy to pave the courtyard and give the scheme an instant age-old finish. The clients are delighted with the results which show off the stunning Abbey frontage in all its glory.
The courtyard of our Abbey has been beautifully reimagined by Johns design work. The drawings conveyed precisely what we had hoped for. John was very helpful and inspiring to work with. A million thanks John.
