The Courtyard, Upper Dicker, East Sussex
The design of a garden is influenced by myriad factors, including its soil type, topography, the climate, its past, the hopes and dreams of the people it is created for.
In the case of The Courtyard, it is the L-shaped design of the house that defines its shape and so everything else. To frame the courtyard and reflect the house back at itself, we introduced a pair of simple green oak pergolas, which in being no more than an architectural sketch allow for clear lines of sight, ensuring that the garden flows. An old stone trough serves as central water feature, the surrounding beds of loosely bordered planting connecting garden to house. A mix of trees and shrubs give height and texture to the garden’s borders, their wild abundance a lovely juxtaposition to the courtyard’s relative orderliness.
The Courtyard is a wonderful example of how a garden – its shape, planting, features, and movement – is defined by and in turn helps define the home.
"We wanted a garden that wasn’t on a slope, that felt balanced, and which in some way connected with the house. Ben’s idea to create a courtyard was a masterstroke. We’re out here all the time!"
Bill Fowler