A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE

Big, bold and colourful winter planting invigorates more marginal areas of a large Surrey garden in a second, stage-stealing phase of design

- JACKY HOBBS

Phase two of any garden design project is typically secondary to the main thrust of the garden landscaping and feverish planting that surrounds the immediacy of the house, swallowing budgets with ease. The somewhat neglected far corners of the garden can find themselves slightly abandoned, with their plight often exacerbated by their newly fashioned, flower-filled main counterparts.

This sprawling, five-acre garden epitomised this predicament. A decade ago, the new owners overhauled the Victorian brick-and-stone villa, while garden designer Debbie Roberts of Acres Wild was briefed to integrate the house with the more immediate garden area. The task was to create a more sociable space, with flower and vegetable gardens, a pool and outdoor entertaining areas, while opening up the breathtaking views over the Surrey Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.