We have recently completed extensive landscaping in a large garden to create a fabulous setting for a newly built country house on the shore of Lake Windermere, near Ambleside. The landscaping involved a large amount of groundworks to reshape the existing site, pond & stream construction, stone walling, paving, turfing, slate chipping paths and planting. The finishing touches included planting over 6000 bulbs to the orchard, wildflower areas, Rhododendron garden, garden terraces, pond and stream side, herbaceous walled garden and Alpine rock garden.
The project commenced last autumn with the concept design for phase one and the subsequent construction. This included a large pond with a circular timber deck, a 35m long stream and the creation of terraces sculpted into the hillside. A winding pathway was built to meander down the terraces from the house over a bridge built of local slate and under a stone archway that leads to the lakeside. Slate stepping stone pathways also weaved through the terraces and linked the various garden areas together. A traditionally built oak framed pergola that is 10m long was designed to support a selection of climbers to give year round interest.
The site conditions were particularly challenging because of the nature of the ground, with existing bedrock and waterlogged soil that was at times frozen or snow covered. We over came these difficulties by working with nature and exposing bedrock to create features, feeding into natural drainage systems and specifying plants that suited the varying site environmental conditions. In terms of construction, the use of marquees and propane heaters allowed us to work through the harsh winter months.
Most of the shrub and perennial planting took place in the spring and summer with a large selection of plants to suit the varying environmental conditions and to create year round interest. Over 70 rhododendrons and 100 alpines were selected from a specialist nurseries. A large number of compatible shrubs and plants were selected for these areas. We planted 26 mature trees that were up to 6m tall and with rootballs over a metre wide, this tree planting was a challenge in late winter with difficult site conditions.
Phase two included the front entrance with steep embankments that we used erosion control webbing for. We also designed and built the alpine garden that involved planting specialist alpines into natural rock crevices and between stepping stones. We leveled areas for extensive lawns, and planted the orchard, wild flower areas, shaded areas and the walled garden.
This garden has been a great challenge to design and build and the finished garden is exquisite. The garden has transformed into a beautiful place, the mud covered building site is a distant memory.
