Wealden Times | WT199 | September 2018 | Education supplement inside

Previous page: The Venetian glass chandelier in the
master bedroom is from RV Astley. The sculptures
at the end of the bed are from Thailand Left: Chris
designed the main part of the garden on a formal
scheme, with gravel paths dividing the beds around
the fountain Below and bottom: Sculptures by Carol
Peace and Dawn Benson add interest on the terrace
and among the borders
stake. Chris chose to use his own garden design as his final
coursework at Inchbald – and what a landscape he has created.
The harder edges of a more classical garden design sit
alongside the wild planting and meadows favoured by
Great Dixter, to magical effect. The steep banks that lead
down from the sandstone terrace that wraps around the
entire house, are a medley of wild flowers. Buttercups,
cornflowers, daisies and cow parsley move gently in the
breeze above the more formal garden that surrounds a
monumental fountain, water gurgling from its flamboyant
centrepiece, whilst several stunning sculptures by Dawn
Benson and Michael Speller draw the eye around the garden.
Having only been planted last year, this was the first
summer that Chris started to see his labours come to fruit.
Worthy of any RHS show garden, Chris has alternated
between both classic and contemporary planting schemes
in the borders, each section divided by a generous gravel
path that divides the space with slick geometry.
An oak pergola surrounds the sunken pool area,
covered in the first year of a white wisteria. A huge
OKA double dining table is a further nod to Lillie’s
and Chris’s love for entertaining. “I love having people
over, so there are lots of sitting spaces everywhere,
in the house and in the garden,” says Lillie.
Chris also designed the pool house, which is covered
in the same green oak repeated in the retaining walls
that terrace the hill, creating useful levels where
the garden has been at last able to thrive.
What Chris has achieved is nothing short of a miracle,
creating a stunning formal garden, a brand new maze
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