This country garden in Sussex includes the largest summerhouse we've built requiring planning and building regs for the complex construction. The new swimming pool is thirteen metres by five metres, with an automatic cover, allowing scale and proportion for both the building and the large terrace.
Our clients wanted to entertain and enjoy family time all through the summer months. We designed a pool surrounded by planting and a new brick wall for privacy. The summerhouse has a kitchen, gym, bathroom and wide doors to overlook the seating area outside. A tennis court sits to the right and can be seen from the summerhouse too, by those inside with a G&T who are less energetic. We used a mix of modern sandstone and lines of brick to tie back to the house. The client had seen an oak pergola she loved, so we replicated this with a brick path, dotted with self-seeding Erigeron. The planting was enhanced with mature trees - wonderful Liquidambar and a mature cherry, plus a row of espalier pears along the brick wall. At the front, three large pyramid Carpinus came from Griffin Nurseries, along with the mature flowering cherry and malus trees in the lawn. Planting the wide borders with a combination of structural and herbaceous plants has provided the garden with a blowsy romantic feel where roses, nepeta and lavender soften the straighter lines of the landscaping.
The brick wall was built to a bespoke design, including missing brick spaces to avoid the feeling of being too enclosed. The lovely gates - refurbished from a reclamation yard - also give glimpses to the front of the house. We take our time finding the right materials and products for your garden, and the summerhouse doors replicate the orangery doors of the house.
