A plantswoman's garden

Plantswoman meets plantswoman in this London garden.

The client had moved back from the United States and was keen to grow all the plants that she hadn’t been able to grow in California, and one of the first steps that she and Jo took was to make a long list of all the much longed-for plants.

Roses dominated that list, and the key here was to create a way to include as many roses a possible. Using the verticality of this garden was key.

This long, narrow city garden has therefore been notionally divided into three notional garden rooms by means of bespoke steel pergolas which run down the length of the garden. These pergolas, smothered with climbing and rambling roses and clematis,  take their cue from the geometry of the house doors in order to provide winter structure.

The romantic atmosphere created by the climbing plants screens the garden from the tall houses which surround the space on all sides. A sunny terrace leading from the kitchen is home to pots of herbs and tender plants; from here we move into an area of flower beds dedicated to herbaceous borders and shrub roses. From here, there is a glimpse of bespoke timber curving benches which create an intimate seating area, separate by espaliered fruit trees from the  furthest end of the garden.

This spot is a dining area on sandstone cobbles, by a brick pizza oven situated discretely in one corner. Hedges and structural shrubs have been carefully staggered along the garden’s length in order that no one spot can be easily seen from another.

Photography by Rachel Warne