The client had previous experience in Europe with Erik Dhont Landscape Architects who then approached David Stead Landscapes.  Within 24 hours, plans were discussed and following a further six months of discussions the garden transformation began. 

Erik Dhont’s vision behind the new design was to link the house towards the landscape in a more natural way, to create a garden that blends naturally with the landscape beyond with large drifts of plants, immersive, mounded areas creating planting at a higher level, hidden vistas that reveal themselves as you happen upon them and with each principal room of the house to have a different view.  

The client requested that there was minimal waste and for as many materials on site to be re-used and re-purposed where ever possible resulting in rubble from buildings being repurposed for groundworks.  Soil from relevelling was used around site to create planting mounds.  

About the botanical context, we preserved the existing plantings while enhancing them with thoughtful new additions. In particular, Erik Dhont’s will was to elevate the character of the garden by reintroducing rhododendrons.

Provender Nurseries were approached for advice to source plants for the project including unusual Rhododendrons specific to the choice and research coming from Erik Dhont’s plant list.  Plants requested were to be mature to give an existing feel once finished

Over the three-year period of the project, Provender Nurseries supplied mature Magnolia, Carpinus, Ilex, Hamamellis, Enkianthus, Laurus, Prunus and Taxus as requested by Erik Dhont for the main structure of the newly created beds. These were underplanted with large numbers of herbaceous plants and ferns.  Spring and summer flowering bulbs supplied were used to underplant the new mature planting and to clothe the newly created mounds by the cabin alongside wild flower seeds sourced by the architect.   

The transformation is stunning with concrete driveways replaced with mounded planting areas, newly created beds within the entire garden creating more private spaces, scented roses adorning the kitchen veranda, once flat areas now concealing the existing tennis court and swimming pool that cannot be seen due to the clever planting.  

The bottom half an acre has been left unmanaged for the local wildlife to ‘be more involved’ in the garden as well as the client. 

Often, gardens are treated as a sum of separate and distinct elements. Here, Erik Dhont’s vision and this working relationship has been a rewarding experience for all parties involved working together to achieve perfect imperfection, allowing the landscape and the content to merge into a harmonious whole, where space, botanic, seasons, architecture, time, nature, interweave together to create a unified and evolving experience.