Toads, water snails and a shrew. None of these creatures – all of which have now made their home in this garden just a short walk from the centre of Utrecht – would previously have given it a second glance. “It was just awful,” says the owner. “Just a lot of paving, some sad grass and no plants. The kids liked it because they could play ball, but once they were old enough to play out on the street, we decided to make something beautiful instead.”
Having been impressed by images of Carolien Barkman’s work in a book on small garden design, they set up a meeting and gave her the brief: a lush, wildlife-friendly garden with lots of colour, room to grow vegetables and, crucially, space for three barbecues. “They also wanted space to sit under a tree, somewhere to eat and a pond,” remembers Carolien. “It’s not a big plot, so the challenge was how to fit this all in, while still creating a beautiful garden where the family could relax.”
Carolien has done this by zoning the garden into three different areas – the productive garden to the front; the barbecue terrace to the side and the ornamental garden, which incorporates three distinct seating areas, to the rear. Tying them all together is a limited palette consisting almost entirely of bricks in various forms, to match the architecture of the house.
Bu hikaye Gardens Illustrated dergisinin August 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Gardens Illustrated dergisinin August 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
LAZY DAYS
Alice Vincent has had a hectic 2023, but for next year she's come up with a cunning plan to give herself more time and reduce her carbon footprint
SCULPTING THE LANDSCAPE
Charlotte Rowe's elegant design for a country garden in Hampshire fuses modern and traditional styles and captures the Zeitgeist for naturalism with a contemporary edge
Flavour of the seasons
Smallholder and former chef Julius Roberts suggests three easy, warming recipes for a winter feast with seasonal produce
JOINT ENTERPRISE
In southwest Germany, a couple have combined structural grasses and perennials with good seedheads in their garden to great effect, especially when touched by winter frost
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
There is a biodiversity loss crisis, but research into the wildlife found in gardens has made it clear just how important these spaces are as habitat. Discover how much you can learn, and gain, by identifying and documenting what you find beyond your back door
MATTHEW BIGGS
Horticulture's nicest practitioner on his journey from sweeping playgrounds to Gardeners' Question Time via offering gardening advice to insomniacs
YOUNG AT HEART
The garden of the late, great landscape architect Jacques Wirtz, which is more than 50 years old, is now being renewed by his children
PITTOSPORUM
These evergreen shrubs come in a multitude of sizes and shapes with shiny, often variegated or colourful leaves and small scented flowers
Festive flourishes
Entertain in style this Christmas with ideas for natural decorations from Swallows & Damsons
LUKE SENIOR
A former Ruth Borun scholar at Great Dixter, Luke is now one of the garden's full time gardeners