This vibrant kitchen garden is one of a number of creations across this North Yorkshire estate.  We began by restoring the original perimeter brick walls and raising the ground by one metre across the long axis of the space, tilting the whole garden back to a satisfying horizontal. Half the garden provides cut flowers for the house, while the other half is productive, both supported by a new Hartley Botanic glasshouse.

​

The rich colour scheme is in contrast to more subdued tones found outside the garden walls, with Salvia Caradonna, Astrantia, Phlomis tuberosa Amazone and thyme holding court.  Spot planted Stipa gigantea hovers above them all, with the upper canopy formed by multi-stemmed Amelanchier canadensis.  The raised productive beds are given an aesthetic role by way of timber cladding, bespoke finials and a coat of rich dark blue paint.

​

In response to the clients fondness for wildlife, four panels of wildflower meadow lend both texture and habitat to the productive end of the garden, under the watchful eye of formal clipped hornbeams.

​

All photographs © Alistair W Baldwin