Chalk Hill
14-08-2025 OVINGDEAN
What a lovely garden this was to work in, a sloping south west-facing garden at the foot of the South Downs with a gorgeous sea view. This meant that it was very chalky and getting hit by a lot of wind, which meant strong and resilient planting and a thick mulch to retain some moisture in the free-draining soil. The brief was simple enough, aiming for a prairie garden feel to hide the base of the greenhouse to make it feel like it was surrounded by the greenery. Using stiff strong grases like the Mollinia and Calamagrostis, along with smaller shrubs like Verbena bonariensis lollipop, Pittosporum tobira nanum, and Carex testacea. This design really came together nicely and being over shadowed by a gorgeous Leburnum for that strong
spring yellow colour, we aimed for a complementary colour palette of whites, purples, red and yellows too. We alss wanted nice winter interest with the grasses providing some winter structure, red Hamamelis giving some funky winter red bracts and the Cornus Mid-Witner Fire allowing the whole thing to look alive even in the darkest months. Can’t wait to see how this matures!
