The Salutation bed

Case Studies

Canterbury cathedral dry garden. Canterbury cathedral dry garden.

Case Study
Canterbury Cathedral Dry Garden

Canterbury cathedral is the Anglican home church and a UNESCO world heritage site set in 26 acres in the centre of the city of canterbury and one of the longest uninterrupted gardened spaces on the planet roughly 1000 years

We were given a loose brief by our client setting out their hopes and ambitions for both the space that was to be designed and their wider use, but no fixed ideas as to what the style of garden was to be. Only how it was going to be used, the client was very open to all ideas initially.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the site a limitation was set that no earth movement could happen below 300mm and that a watching archaeological brief would be set when works began

The Site- located in an enclosed area used as the entrance to the cathedrals hotel just off the main precinct with views from the hotel rooms of the cathedral currently just lawns and cobbles set in concrete. there is 1 semi-mature olive in the space that must remain.

After several meetings and site visits to research ideas and survey the site a style emerged that we felt was right for the client and the site, with many factors considered including limitations on regular maintenance.
from the beginning I set an ambition of only 1 load of waste was to leave site for recycling and that we were going to recycle, repurpose and reuse everything on site.

Logistically a difficult proposition due to limited vehicle access, access times, storage facilities on site for materials and noise sensitivity with limited working hours of noise meant that this project had to be carefully planned logistically so elements happened in a series of phases to allow smooth construction and planting.

The design – a dry garden was planned and presented along with full plant profiles, we settled on a dry garden due to the poor soil conditions, high light levels and low rainfall of east kent and very sheltered environment of the garden. 5 sets were given so the cathedral could share and discuss the plans at every level from the dean and chapter to historic England down to the volunteers helping to run the day to day. Once all questions had been answered and all permissions approved be began the 4 month build of the garden. It took 1 year from initial meeting to construction to begin.

The garden is in its first year in 2023, we have a bi-monthly visit scheduled with the head gardener to discuss ongoing ideas and work out any planting solutions for the gardens continued success.

The old rectory The Old Rectory

Case Study
The Old Rectory

The old rectory is an ongoing long term project, just what we like.

The family asked us to take responsibility for the regular maintenance of the gardens whilst also reinvigorating them with new ideas and new plants.

This is a gentle approach as it will take many years to fully realise our ambitions at the site, we have reassessed every flower bed and border to make sure we are getting the maximum potential from them with the minimum input.

Traditional Orchard, wild flower meadows, hazel copse, out with the rose borders, in with a beautiful mixed long border. All designed with nature and sustainability at its heart. It will be a wildlife haven.

Witherdens Hall Witherdens hall

Case Study
Witherdens Hall

The owner runs Witherdens Hall as a retreat for the mind, body and spirit.

This is another long term project. The gardens were in need of renovation and a professional eye for detail, We have taken responsibility for the regular maintenance and the gardens are currently (2023) going through significant renovations including removal of old hedges, re-designing borders, adding meadow, a cutting garden and in time veg and herbs, as always in our projects we are planting lots of flowering trees and new hedges, returning the gardens to their former cottage garden glory albeit with a more sustainable organic approach.

Case Study
Sweetbriar

Sweetbriar is our home garden, created 10yrs ago in 2023

The brief was we are both working gardeners who are obsessed with plants but time poor through the summer. It needed to be a entertainment and relaxing space for the family, but with a feel like you’re on holiday every time your outside, and also satisfy our own needs as gardeners

The site is a modest detached house and front and back gardens.

The front is a cottage garden haven, flowers, herbs, fruit fill every space. It even won Kents most wildlife friendly front garden from the Kent wildlife trust in 2019 due to our organic stance and extra details to encourage wildlife into the garden.

The back is an escape from reality! It’s a bits surreal, we did away with the traditional lawn and borders, instead creating a jungle garden with a greenhouse that doubles as a conservatory on the summer at its heart. The aim was to truly feel transported to some far flung corner of the globe. I think we achieved that and now it continues to be a space for experimentation in low maintenance exotic planting.

The Grange. The Grange.

Case Study
The Grange

The owners of the grange are the real driving force behind this project. The family wanted real ownership of this garden. We were invited to Dorset to help the owners set out the main plan for the garden, working closely with them and listening to what they hope to achieve we were able to create a base plan and loose planting ideas.

The project will be ongoing for a few years with adjustments being made all the time to this working garden. Like all gardens that have passionate owners In time this will be a garden of incredible character, all we have done is help galvanise and affirm what they want from their garden.