New Ground Landscapes - Stamford, lincolnshire, based Landscape Garden Designer
"We truly believe to design something well you should understand how it is built, the construction gives you your bones to the garden, creating our spaces to use and areas to plant."
Construction
Chelsea 2008 - The Reflective Garden
New Ground Landscapes scooped two awards at this year’s prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As well as winning gold for Adam Frost’s ‘A Welcome Sight’ urban garden, the NGL team also won silver-gilt for Clare Agnew’s ‘The Reflective Garden’. This was one of the larger show gardens, which they constructed at the same time as Adam’s garden.
The garden is bounded by Carpinus hedging and bamboo screening and within it there is an eye-catching vista along the back length. Pleached Carpinus, roof-shaped Platanus and Cornus controversa surround and overhang three still dark pools, providing both shelter and structure for contemplation and relaxation. The pools reflect the trees and passing clouds and the edges are flanked by early-flowering plants and grasses that glisten in the water. The movement of water is in contrast to the stillness of the reflective pools, which in turn reflect the sky and bring light into the garden.
The planting is leafy and textural, with tall early-flowering plants and grasses reflecting in the water. Flowers are mainly creamy whites with a touch of warmth thrown in, planted in bold clumps and drifts. Strap-like leaves of bamboo and grasses rustle in the breeze with bold use of Calamagrostris and Buxus cubes. The stems of pleached Carpinus and six roof-shaped Platanus trees mirror themselves at the water’s edge along with Aruncus, Rheum, Zantedeschia, Iris sibirica, Osmunda, Angelica and Crambe cordifolia.
The shaded seating beneath the six umbrella trees is lit by a backdrop of many foxglove candles growing amongst elegant ferns and tall, rustling bamboos.
