The Green Garden
The home and the garden ought to be the most interesting and interested friends, their conversations at once lively and respectful, their identities different and yet somehow entwined.
It is exactly the kind of friendship that marks The Green Garden – a small back garden in Preston Park in Brighton – and its relationship with the home of a health educator and keen gardener and her psychiatrist partner. Originally separated from each other by a dark and dank patio, home and garden have been brought together. Pushing back obtrusive walls and introducing a terrace, a shade-tolerant ‘green’ garden has been established using topiary and shrubs softened by a mix of white flowering plants such as ferns, anemone, dicentra, foxgloves and tulips.
The flow of the garden towards and away from the house designed to work hard in the name of both, a beautiful friendship was and continues to be made.
"We chose Ben for the redesign of our garden as we felt he combined an excellent aesthetic sense with a true love for and knowledge of plants - very high on our priorities! We had a few really tricky areas, particularly a dank horrid patio in deep shade. This was completely transformed by Ben and is now a gorgeous tranquil space and one of our most loved areas.
It was a genuine pleasure having Ben and his team on site which is a really important consideration when the work is extensive and takes a long time. Ben was very indulgent of my close involvement in the planting plan and our sense was of a real partnership resulting in a much loved garden. Huge thanks from us to Ben and his fantastic team. We are absolutely delighted and, several years on, our garden continues to be a source of joy."
Sue Berlowitz