A grand and magical garden for a country estate. West Sussex.
The grounds of this estate embody a certain magic. A lost romantic fairy-tale. Like a bewitched child, one wanders between spaces of faded grandeur, secluded opulence, and wild abandon.
This bold garden design by James Innes Design seeks to sympathetically bind the existing architecture to its landscape, renew the sense of grandeur and magic of the setting, and gently imprint the personalities of the clients into their English landscape. Encompassing past, present and future, this garden will stand the test of time.
Bespoke to the client. Delivering the exceptional.
The Brief
We spent several days walking the grounds and discussing the property and its land with the clients to fully understand their connection with it.
We immersed ourselves in the garden and in its landscape and history. From these interactions, we distilled the following vision.
To appropriately restore the magic and grandeur of the estate
To create bespoke spaces that can be enjoyed by the family and their friends for years to come
To lastingly imprint the personality, and express the individuality, of the clients into their landscape It all begins with an idea.
A modern folly
The client requested a lookout area that was perched above their own private valley. They wanted something to impress, and which could be used for entertaining in the evening.
The design proposes a post-modern folly. It was based on the octagonal motifs that repeat throughout the original Thomas Mawson landscape. Hidden by a threshold of established yew trees, the wanderer will stumble upon bold monoliths of local sandstone bound by patinated brass.
The central raised sanctum includes seating surrounding a brass-clad raised pond and rill. The space is at once intimate and epic; enclosing and absolving; personal and unknowable. A place for quiet contemplation or the wildest abandon. A place where past, present, and future merge into one.
The Sculpture
The clients were clear that they wanted sculpture to be a core part of the garden’s design. We used our extensive network of sculptors to find just the right fit for them and managed each step of the commissioning process.
By working in close collaboration with the sculptor, we expressed the individuality of the clients with a tailor-made design that was sympathetic to their taste and the setting of the garden itself.
The garden was designed around this timeless piece, utilising it as a visual focal point and waypoint for the emotional journey through the garden.
The Planting.
The Bird of Paradise garden at near the top of the estate has an exotic feel, with the planting comprised of Ficus Carica and Canna Indica.
The planting for the walled garden gives the garden a sub-tropical feel, creating its own world. The silvery foliage and deep blue flowers set off the Verdigris copper roof of the adjacent observatory.
The Furnishings
The space was completed with exquisite sun loungers and chairs crafted from sustainable mahogany. The best quality soft furnishings suitable for outdoors were used to pick out the colours of copper roof. Carefully places lighting leads the way to a new cocktail bar set in the old observatory.