A poet's garden in rolling, ancient woodland
The Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean are all curves,’ says Sean Swallow of the landscape that surrounds his garden. Indeed, the hills, valleys and woods do all sweep and roll. ‘But I wanted to make a garden that resisted this,’ he continues. ‘So squares are a repeating theme, with clipped lime and buxus cubes and two square lawns – they make an energetic contrast to the forest.’
Sean has been at Scatterford, which he calls ‘an old yeoman’s house’, for some 11 years. Describing himself as someone who ‘used to be a garden designer and still does occasional consultancy work, but is now – among other things – doing a PhD in ecopoetry’, he started work on the 1.5-acre garden right away after moving in. ‘The soil here tends to be clay and very sticky, but I’ve been mulching it for 10 years and it is much better now,’ he says. Certainly, perennials appear to be flourishing on it.
Key to Sean’s success in making a garden here has been the landscape architect Max Askew, who was brought in to help plan the reshaping of the levels. The garden is the result of their collaboration – a joint approach to understanding how a plot must define itself against its surroundings while, at the same time, maintaining a connection with them.
For much of the year, the perennials hold the eye – mostly a classic range of robust species and the best of their modern cultivars. But there is far more to this garden than simply good planting. ‘I’m very much influenced by landscape architecture', Sean explains. He talks about designers who work on a scale of hundreds of hectares and only later mentions more predictable sources of inspiration – Piet Oudolf, and Christopher Lloyd’s garden at Great Dixter. ‘Balance, proportion and scale are all hugely important,’ he says, pointing out an elliptical pond and the space around it in an area of the garden defined by a restored dry-stone wall. Indeed, most people probably would have put a rectangular pond in here, echoing the straight lines of the wall and the borders. But the ellipse picks up on the curves in the landscape and reflects them in the heart of the garden.
There is another pond, which, when Sean arrived, was just a shallow depression in the ground. ‘It was marked on an old OS map as a cow pond, as this had been a dairy farm – one of our major projects was remaking it.’ It is now full of newts and other wildlife. He also retained the existing dry-stone walls. ‘My guiding principle was to follow what was here already,’ he adds. ‘I wanted to stay loyal to the original imprint of the garden, while making something that felt enclosed but that still had connections to the landscape beyond it. So none of the boundaries are that high and there are plenty of views looking out. Above all, I wanted to create an emotional impact of serenity – for people to be able to enjoy the plants while feeling connected to the countryside.’
When it comes to the planting schemes, Piet Oudolf has been a big influence. ‘He’s a master of texture and form,’ Sean enthuses. Much of the perennial planting at Scatterford is concentrated on either side of a straight path of Breedon gravel that runs away from the house. Nearest the house, a horn-beam arch borders the path; through a gate, the path continues to the outer boundary, the plants growing tall on either side.
Colour is another notable part of the garden’s impact. As spring turns into summer, two varieties of allium – ‘Ambassador’ and ‘Beau Regard’ – act as theme plants, their almost perfectly spherical flower heads providing strong focal points of colour and form, and also ongoing structure as striking seed heads. Their purple hues are picked up in the comfrey Symphytum x uplandicum ‘Moorland Heather’ and enhanced by related shades, such as the dark red of Astrantia major ‘Claret’. Other plants, such as the greenish-yellow Euphorbia oblongata, add to a mix of colours with sufficient contrast to stimulate but within a narrow enough range to be harmonious.
The stronger and darker flower shades are picked up by the purple hazel Corylus avellana ‘Purpurea’. ‘This grows beautifully for me,’ says Sean. ‘I coppice it every few years and it shares space with the perennials. There’s a wonderful strength and intensity to the purple, and it turns an amazing vibrant mustard in autumn.’ He had been unsure initially about using this tree, but when out walking one day in the Wye Valley, he saw it in a hedgerow. ‘It can be hard to make a garden decision and then you see something in the landscape that gives you permission to go ahead and do it,’ he explains.
Summer interest is maintained in the borders with later-blooming perennials, such as golden-yellow Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ and the rich purple Vernonia fasciculata. The tall Angelica archangelica, which flowers early in the season, has seed heads attractive enough to keep their value in the border for several months. More summer planting, with mostly pale colours but many interesting and different plant forms, fronts the walls of the garden centred on the elliptical pond.
At first sight, this is a traditional garden, but a second look reveals much that has been carefully thought through and given a gently innovative twist. The balance of its distinction from, yet connection to, the landscape is a particular joy.
seanswallow.net | askewnelson.com
Photographer: rebeccabernstein.co.uk
Rebecca Bernstein1/11Mauve alliums – tall ‘Beau Regard’ and the larger-flowered ‘Ambassador’ – are combined with towering Angelica archangelica, lacy Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, lime-green Euphorbia oblongata and purple Symphytum ‘Moorland Heather’.
Rebecca Bernstein2/11A flagged path edged with delicate Corydalis ‘Blue Panda’ and Viola cornuta ‘Alba’ leads, under a series of striking hornbeam arches, to the lower level of the walled garden.
Rebecca Bernstein3/11An old apple tree is reflected in the elliptical pond, which is edged with Forest of Dean sandstone. The dry-stone walls are a mix of restored and new.
Rebecca Bernstein4/11Steps lead through a gap in the hornbeam hedge to an upper garden of contoured grass.
Rebecca Bernstein5/11Silver birches are the backdrop to a seat in the walled garden surrounded by alliums, with Astrantia major ‘Claret’ in the foreground.
Rebecca Bernstein6/11Steps created from stone found on site link the two levels of the walled garden.
Rebecca Bernstein7/11White Heracleum stevenii stands out in a border.
Rebecca Bernstein8/11Long grass surrounds an old apple tree.
Rebecca Bernstein9/11Yellow irises edge the re-created cow pond by the barn.
Rebecca Bernstein10/11The view across the elliptical pond to the hornbeam arches and ‘cubed’ lime trees.
Rebecca Bernstein11/11Perennials spill onto the Breedon gravel path.
