Our decision was to develop a planting style that spoke to the open horizons of the wider landscape and work with the client’s desire for a romantic and relaxed planting mood - billowy and wildlife friendly. The long border is a tapestry of gentle, textural plants. A preponderance of grasses of varying heights create a flowing appearance and a soft base through which other perennials emerge. A gentle palette of harmonious pinks, purples and blues with touches of stronger pinks and deeper reds all sit comfortably together with the earthy tones of the grasses.

A very windy location, the planting needed to be robust and the grasses and tall willowy plants such as Verbena bonariensis and the Giant Bronze Fennel not only stand up to the wind but their movement embraces and enhances the effect. Simple flowers like Anemone and Phlox contrast with the wilder, more architectural forms of Echinops and Eryngium - a nod to the field thistles and coastal Sea Holly. The borders against the house and terrace had more structure with a greater proportion of shrubs and evergreen plants, with a backbone of Sarcococca providing valuable winter scent. The colour palette of simple blue, white and green a calm and quiet backdrop to the lively, joyful events on the terrace.