.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
About 5 Northampton Park
5 Northampton Park is an oasis of seclusion within the urban environment of North Islington. The old red brick walls which surround it lend an air of peace and tranquility as well as being a remnant of the garden’s 180 year history.
Now, after over thirty years, the garden that has given us such pleasure and many surprises is currently undergoing a total redesign; a design that has been shaped by the lessons the garden has patiently yet firmly taught us: where the light and shade fall and in which season, which areas respond to close nurturing and which prefer a more laissez faire approach.
Entering the garden through the side gate into the gravel area an ebullient olive tree thrives upon an undersoil of rubble and tough London clay. From here the natural route is alongside the house, enclosed on each side by borders, then onto the broad York stone terrace and seating area. Here, the much cherished atmosphere of calm enclosure within a walled city garden is being deliberately encouraged.
A short gravel path turns beneath the shade of a mature oak tree gently doubling back past a water feature and beds of new and old planting. Here the blend of cool silvers, greys and greens returns towards areas of warmer splashes of red and orange on the sunnier Eastern side. To the right of the glass box addition to the house is a corten (steel) herb planter and a small vegetable plot – our first venture into veg, growing. We hope for surprises and expect blunders.
The view back towards the the gravel area gives the attention grabbing olive tree the prominence we think it deserves thereby completing a brief but hopefully engaging tour.
At the time of writing the ‘garden’ is a scene of digging, planting and stone working carefully overseen by designer Adolfo Harrison; by the time of your visit we hope to have achieved much if not all of the plan described here but, as ever, we remain open to all possibilities…
.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)