18 Brownswood Road

About 18 Brownswood Road

When we moved to Beaconsfield in 2003 the garden of our new house consisted solely of paving and grass. A major issue was the lack of soil, due to the masses of Chiltern stone. During the initial landscaping work over two skip-loads of stones had to be removed and every year we discover lots more.

A friend recommended Barbara Hunt to us; Barbara has more than 30 years experience in designing gardens and has RHS gold medals to her name. We knew the plants that we wanted but had no idea of how to design the garden. Barbara’s design incorporated gentle curves, carrying the eye from one point to the next. The results are curves constructed from brick edging, lavender beds and clipped box. These are echoed by buxus balls at the ends, acting as full stops. The idea was to relax, spend long, lazy lunches and potter around tending the plants. The reality is a great deal of pottering and not enough time relaxing!

There is great contrast between sharp and smooth, straight and round, light and dark and hard and soft. The large gravel area gives an opportunity to see plants in their entirety, where they may otherwise be lost in the borders and beds. The hot reds of Penstemon Garnet protrude like fireballs between cool blues and purples, adding an element of excitement to the borders. The laurel hedge provides a dark backdrop and helps frame the planting in front. The sweeping curves of the box, accompanied by the sounds of water from the Barry Mason fountain evoke the atmosphere of a meandering stream through the garden.

Recent additions of a plant theatre, containing at least 45 pots and a summer house enhance the side garden and make the visitor linger on the way to the back garden.

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