Garden of the Year 2010 - New Homes Garden Awards - LJN Blog Posts

Selina Botham and Raven Housing Trust have won the Best Communal Garden and also scooped the top award for the "Garden of the Year - 2010".

The garden has made a big difference for all the residents at Douglas House in Horley. The garden is shared by the occupants of 27 new build sheltered apartments. Gardens are important for health and well-being and this garden has seasonal areas, together with sensory and wildlife features to enhance their living space all year round.

Designer: Selina Botham/Designs for all Seasons/ www.designsforallseasons.co.uk

Project: Communal Garden for new build sheltered housing scheme
Location: Horley, Surrey
Client: Raven Housing Trust

Size approx 1,500m2
Aspect: Front, South and West. Back East and North
Soil: Imported neutral loam
Started: July 2009
Completed: October 2009
Cost: Approximately £100,000
Contractors: ROK with subcontractors.

THE BRIEF

Raven’s brief was for a ‘cutting edge’, low water garden to complement a new affordable sheltered scheme with 27 apartments. A tricky design challenge to be cutting edge and still create a garden that the elderly residents would enjoy. The narrow site sandwiched rather unpromisingly between the main railway line and the road to Horley town centre created an further design challenge.
Accessibility was important and also colour, seasonal interest and of course maintenance.

THE DESIGN

The design sought to maximise the feeling of space by emphasising the width of the site and creating as much green space for people and wildlife as possible. In the rear garden, paths lead out and across the site to destinations with different characters. A cool green ‘spring garden’ provides a calming and restful space to sit and enjoy the ‘frog playground’ and other wildlife features. There is also a ‘bird friendly garden’ with a comfortable square lawn with benches around, planted mainly for late summer/autumn colour and berries for birds.

In the front garden the boundary hedge is rhythmically broken to allow glimpses of the soft flowing blue flowers within. Around the main terrace and water feature, verbena bonariensis and calamagrostis grasses give a soft semi -transparent feeling of enclosure. Punctuated with orange heleniums and achillea Walter Funke and bright golden achillea Gold Plate, the planting is bright and cheerful. A succession of beautiful bulbs transforms all areas during spring,

The garden adds outdoor ‘green’ living space, which compliments and connects with the building and has attracted a rich variety of wildlife for the residents to enjoy. Having access to quality green space creates health and well-being benefits for all the elderly residents.

Being involved with the residents and getting them planting their own spring bulbs was great too!

"Plus it doesn't matter if we all know plants are better value. I'd make the point of this to the customer but if they want trough grown at the extra cost that's their choice I'd just do it"

"I've done 5ft Thorne troughs. Very easy to plant just got a mini digger dug the trench then drop them in couldn't be easier however £250 per m does seem expensive. "

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Comments

PRO

Phil Voice October 12, 2010 at 7:17pm

Well done Selina - I love the look.

The use of the setts in the three lines around the paving looks very fine (it worked using the smaller sizes).

I also like the gangly Achillea - so often seemed to be classed as a bit of a weedy perennial but it works well in your scheme.
PRO

Mick Gammage January 15, 2011 at 1:55pm

Excellent work Selina and well done with the award

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