Stephen Read, Malvern

2 Euston Street, Malvern (2016)

Designer
Open Date
12-13 Nov. 2016
Garden Entry
$
 

Note: This garden was opened in 2016

The design brief for this modest Malvern garden was simple. The client wanted to work closely with a designer to make a garden she felt at home in, felt a deep connection with and loved.  She wanted a garden that would change with each season and which had a strong enough sense of structure that it would be able to incorporate any additions she made in her wide and whimsical taste.

The first step was to remove anything cliched, so the Iceberg Roses and Camellia had to go. We then made features of the things that worked; the Rose was trained to the wall and, inspired by the bright scarlet bracts of the existing Bougainvillaea, we planted more to create a hedge. The garden was then divided into three courtyards. The first is an open space which makes the most of the Northerly aspect, and we planted herbs, perennials, olives and citrus. Passing through a set of quirky jade coloured urns we move into the second courtyard.  To contrast the sun-soaked heat of the first courtyard, we planted Golden Robinia and Ruby Lace Gleditsia, providing cool, dappled shade, where we massed Arthropodium and Winter Iris.  Moving on to the third shady courtyard, we created a place for all those meaningful plants collected over a lifetime.

The highlights of this garden are without a doubt the bold colours of the Climbing Rose and the Bouganvillea.  The textures of the Miscanthus and Euphorbia are also show stoppers.  With a Northerly aspect and free draining soil, the challenges of this site were minimal. Although working so closely with a client could be seen as a challenge, in this case the rewards were worth it.