Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019 AMATEURGARDENING 53

Auniqueblendingof EastandWestmakesthemostof thesmallspacesbehind

andin frontof a recentlybuilthomenearBridportin Dorset,saysSueBradley

E

ASTandWesthavebeen

broughttogethertoturna

‘squashcourt’intoa tranquil

courtyardgarden.

JapanandItalycollidewithinthe

smallspacebehindSarahPorterand

MartynLock’sDorsethome,combining

boldlines,a limitedselectionof hard

landscapingmaterialsandrestricted

paletteof colours,withboxclipped

intoneatgeometricshapes providing

ahintof formality.

Stark18ft(5½m)retainingwalls

surroundingthebackgardenhave

been softened by climbers such as ivy,

clematis,evergreenjasmineand

wisteria,withonesection housing a

narrowwaterfeature.

Elsewhere,a largeoiltankis screened

fromviewbyfencinganda shed,bothof

which are painted black to merge into the

backgroundandcomplementthetimbers

laidbetweensectionsof stonechippings

thatcontributeto theoverallstructure

andmakethechanges in levels look

more subtle.

Linkingthemes

Severalof theideasfromtheback

gardenfollowthroughtothesmallarea

aroundthefrontof thecouple’ssemi-

detachedhome,includingtheuseof

boxtoestablisha senseof formalityand

morechippingsfora low-maintenance

groundcovering.Bothgardensfeature

black-edged rectangular flower beds,

Seekattractivesmalltreestodrawtheeyeupwards.

Thepink,creamandgreenfoliageofhisflamingo

willow(Salix integra) ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ is a winner

Ideas for gorgeous gardens

Get the look

A courtyard ‘fusion’ garden

“Itlookedlikea

squashcourt–a lot

of wall and patio”

Photographs by Peter Chatterton