Ashcroft House

About Ashcroft House

Built in 2006 this L shaped stone build house came with a limited plot size as with so many modern houses. The owner, who loves plants, has recently redesigned the garden, and made ingenious use of all available planting space, including in the vertical dimension, whilst retaining just a small amount of lawn.

To the side on either side of the drive there are mature trees and shrub borders, and nestled away here too is a potting shed, a greenhouse & raised beds one of which is dominated by an impressively large red New Zealand Flax. At the front, a Laburnum looks stunning in flower at the start of the summer. The rest of the frontage has been planted in a cottage garden style: some lawn bordered by lavenders, informal beds with a mature cherry blossom to one side, bulbs, grasses and/or perennials such as Leucanthemum, Foxglove, Delphinium and Lupins surrounding it, and to the other a bench within more planting from which to appreciate the East facing open ‘Millenium Green’ view.

To the rear, visitors first enter an enclosed ‘courtyard garden’ area with patio seating, a modern water feature and potted plants various stood atop a pebbled area. Heading under a pergola archway to the other side of dividing trellis covered in climbers, a small summer border runs adjacent to the garage with Phlox, Hemerocallis and Heuchara dominating. Rounding the corner you can either pause for a seat in the egg basket swing in a Mediterranean corner, or continue into the first circular lawn area. Surrounding this you will find a plethora of herbaceous planting including roses, a beautiful Cotinus, Sea Hollys, and a small collection of Salvia. Moving into the second circular area there is an abundance of ‘hotly coloured’ flowering plants dominating one side with allium, big leaved plants, tropical style planting and a fabulous Dicksonia Antarctica tree fern dominating the view the other.
For the last of the circles, you move into a cool shaded seating area towered over by a mature silver birch, with Ferns, Helleborus, & Hosta underplanting. Here too is the green wall.
Finally for intrepid adventurers, there is a slim side path access down the side of the house where there are fruit trees and container veg planted.

This garden has so many different plants that you really have to study the planting in person to find the surprises but in sum it is a bijou, multi-zoned garden jam-packed full of varied and colourful planting providing a lush oasis of interest and inspiration for small plot gardeners throughout the season.