Rustic Haven

Double Award winning garden

 

Nestled in rural Berkshire amidst a verdant green planting scheme with accents of white foliage to the front and rich, warm hues of a statement Japanese maple to the rear of the property.

The garden set against the distressed, rustic wooden panels of the house, unfolds like an oasis. A meandering stone pathway edged with cottage style planting leads to the sparking azure pool. There is a spacious patio with a graceful Japanese maple feature.

BALI Awards 2025 Finalist. The judges said – “A well executed scheme, finished to a very high standard in both hard and soft landscaping.”

This design and build has also been shortlisted for an APL 2026 Award.  With an exceptional level of skill on display and a record-breaking number of entries, this year’s competition set a new standard in the world of landscaping. 

The design brief

We were asked to create a large, paved area around the swimming pool that our client could enjoy with his young family, including a separate area for table tennis. Originally the pool was closed off by a wall so didn’t feel part of the garden. We were tasked with opening it up to make it more useable.

We also re-paved the main patio outside the kitchen to ensure the areas flowed well together.

PLANTING

In terms of planting, our client had a clear idea of the style they wanted. The majority of the main garden was just lawns so we created and planted borders full of plants that provide year-round interest. The front borders especially are easily manageable, low maintenance and bee friendly.

Our client had their heart set on Acers (Japanese maples) by the pool so we chose Acer ‘Sango kaku’ with clipped balls underneath. The rest of the planting had a Mediterranean feel to it with plenty of evergreen structure and texture.

All plants were supplied by The Big Plant Nursery in Twyford. We selected large, mature specimens for instant impact. The planting in and around the paved areas helps to soften the hard landscaping.

These are just some of the plants we used to create this look: