Compare this with the previous picture.  This shows the completed scheme two years later.  Most of the new planting is beginning to mature, creating an identity and setting on a scale equal to the grandeur of this country residence  To create a level lawn we had to excavate the rough grassland up to a metre in height at the house end, and create a new set of steps to accommodate this.  To the right of the picture can be seen the rebuilt wall – the original was unsafe and had to be demolished.

Planting is on a grand scale, with large flowering shrubs creating a framework.  Dramatic drifts of herbaceous perennials create a showy effect in summer.

Planting here includes

Prunus x pissardii nigra – purple leaved plum – a small but wide spreading tree

Viburnum plicatum mariesii – Japanese snowball bush

Ceanothus ‘celestial blue’– California lilac

Cytisus x praecox – ‘allgold’ broom