Havinga changeoflevelinyour
gardencanbea good thing,
breakingupthe
spaceandaddinga certain
dynamism.Butyoucanhavetoomuchofa good
thing.GardendesignerSaraJaneRothwellhas
madedealingwithawkwardtopographya speciality
ofhers,butevenshewasslightlytakenaback on
herfirstvisittothisnorthLondonplot.
‘Inmostrespectsit wasa standardcitygarden
andactuallya goodsizeforthecapital,buttowards
theendboundaryit justshotawaydownhill,’says
SaraJane.Infact,herclients’childrenusedtosledge
downtheslopeinwinterwhentheyweresmall.But
thosechildrenarenowawayatuniversityandthe
clientsdecidedtoimprove,ratherthanmove away
from,theirmuch-lovedfamilyhome.
‘Thehousehada newconservatoryandanamazing
windowthefullheightofthehouse,givingstunning
viewsoverthegardenandthecitybeyond,’says
SaraJane.‘Outside,therewasa good-sizedining
terraceandlotsoflawn,buttheclientswantedmore
flowersandanextraseatingareaattheslopingend.’
SaraJane’smasterstrokewastocomeupwiththe
conceptofa cantileveredplatformovertheslope,
creatinga levelareawheretheycouldenjoytheview.
ThiswasfinishedinsmartpaleIpewooddecking,
withspacefora barbecue,sometemptinglysquashy
sofasanda lowcoffeetable,allframedbya yew
hedgetoconcealtheslopeunderneath,whichis
nowcoveredinwildflowerturf.‘Theentirefootprint
ofthedeckis gainedspace,’saysSaraJane.‘And
wekepttheoldstepsdownononeside,sothe
clientscouldaccessa gardenshedtuckedaway
outofsightattheverybottomofthegarden.’
Theclientshadalsoaskedforthesoundofmoving
water,sothenewdeckwasanidealplacetoputa
recirculatingwaterbowl,alignedwiththehouse.To
linkthegardenandhouse,visuallyandphysically,
SaraJaneset2m-widesteppingstonesintothelawn
to lead back to the broad, shallow steps that go downontothediningterracebythehouse.Here,thesame
Ipewooddeckingusedonthenewplatformis set
betweenpale-greysandstoneslabs,whilea large
planterofelegantAmelanchierlamarckiibeside
thehouseblursthelinebetweeninsideandout.
‘Theclientslovetheirviewoverthebeautiful
neighbouringroofs,’saysSaraJane,‘soI wasaskedto
keeptheplantinglow.’Inpractice,thismeantthat
Sarahadtorestrictherplantpalettetothosecultivars
thatreachnomorethan70cminheight.‘Itwasno
greathardship,’shesays.‘Theywanteda planting
schemetoevoketheEnglishcountryhousegardens
theylovetovisit,ina paletteofsoftmauves,pinks
andgreys,sowewentwithmassesofAgastache
‘Blackadder’,GeraniumRozanne,ornamental
grassesandfrothyErigeronkarvinskianus
(Mexicanfleabane).Theoveralleffectis calm,
elegantandhighlyconducivetoentertaining.
Thesedays,whenthechildrencomehometovisit,
theyarestilldrawntotheendofthegarden,but
now it is for civilised socialising, not sledging.&114 HOMESANDGARDENS.COM