"Contemporary and traditional design elements fuse in a modern country garden layout tailored for inexperienced gardening duo"
Contemporary Wildlife-Friendly Garden Transforms Park House Near Cambridge
In the heart of Cambridge, a historic Grade II-listed house named Park House has undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to the vision of Worcestershire-based landscape and garden designer, Robert Myers. Myers is renowned for his contemporary gardens set in historic landscapes, and his work at Park House is no exception.
Before the makeover, the original formal gardens surrounding the house led to an orchard and extensive parkland, some of which has been sold off. Robert Myers' goal was to create a contemporary garden that would not only be aesthetically pleasing but also support local wildlife and stay true to the historic setting.
The garden was installed in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown, and Sharon and David Smith, owners of the house built in 1854, found maintaining it to be relaxing and rewarding. The planting beds are sandwiched between the diagonal pathway and another straight path in front of the kitchen.
Myers' design includes a succession of food and habitats for wildlife throughout the year. Hedges and trees provide nesting spots, while water features sustain various garden creatures. Climate-resilient planting supports insect populations, ensuring the garden thrives in all seasons.
The garden's centerpiece is a vibrant display of flowers and grasses that set it alight from midsummer through to autumn. Myers combined ornamental grasses like Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' and Sesleria autumnalis with a tapestry of pollen-rich perennials, increasing biodiversity in the garden.
The diagonal path forms the main axis through the garden, linking it to an elevated paved terrace. The west-facing terrace offers space for dining outside, providing views over a series of rectangular beds filled with perennial flowers and grasses.
The reflective water tanks in the garden act like visual punctuation marks, sparkling among the flowers and grasses. These water tanks, made from Corten steel and with an inner black polyurethane lining to prevent corrosion, also reflect the sky and scudding clouds above, adding a dynamic element to the garden's design.
Sharon and David have help with trimming their boundary hedges and mowing the meadow, but David mows the grass paths leading through the meadow himself. The couple added to Robert's original list of plants with others they like and have learned about plants since maintaining the garden. The beds are traversed by narrow gravel paths that immerse you in the planting as you travel along them.
The garden includes an expanse of lawn on the south side, a walled garden surrounding the pool, a new greenhouse, and an informal kitchen garden where the couple grow their own soft fruit and vegetables.
Sharon and David have developed a new-found passion for plants and love of nature during the Covid lockdowns while caring for their restored garden. They find it satisfying to look at their garden from the terrace on sunny evenings, knowing they have helped create a beautiful space that benefits local wildlife.
Myers' approach to wildlife-friendly garden design emphasizes creating varied viewpoints and changes of level, which enhances habitat diversity and encourages wildlife. Enlarging ponds and planting long beds with perennial grasses provide resources and shelter for native species, thus fostering biodiversity in his projects.
While there is no direct detailed case study on a specific Cambridge wildlife garden by Robert Myers available, his ongoing landscape designs for Trinity College in Cambridge suggest his contemporary style involves sensitive integration of water features, diverse planting, and structural interest that support biodiversity within historic or academic settings.
[1] Source: Robert Myers' Website and various online articles about Robert Myers' work.
- The transformed Park House, located in Cambridge, boasts a contemporary garden designed by Robert Myers, a renowned landscape and garden designer.
- The garden, installed in 2020, is aesthetically pleasing, supports local wildlife, and adheres to the historic setting, as intended by Myers.
- The garden design includes a vibrant display of flowers, grasses, and climate-resilient plants that provide food and habitats for wildlife throughout the year.
- Sharon and David, owners of Park House, have been maintaining the garden, finding it relaxing, rewarding, and fostering a newfound passion for plants and nature.
- Robert Myers' approach to garden design, such as the one at Park House, promotes sustainable living by creating varied viewpoints, changes of level, and diverse planting that encourages wildlife and fosters biodiversity.
