Twickenham Garden

The garden relates to a Grade II listed building, the headmaster’s house for the neighbouring school. The main reception rooms are at first floor level and look down onto the garden leading to the use of parterre planting alongside the main terrace. An existing yew tree was retained within the garden, creating a sense of maturity. French hard limestone was used to match as closely as possible the pale render of the house and pleached hornbeams created the necessary structure and privacy close to the house. The parterre planting is box and Stipa tenuissima, interplanted with Allium caerulea. Wide flights of steps provide access to the various levels. The sloping garden was terraced to introduce a new lawn large enough for fund raining gatherings and a small marquee. Planting to the main borders is a mixture of perennials and grasses becoming increasingly appropriate to damp conditions, typically Iris sibirica, Miscanthus ‘Silver Feather’ and coppiced willows. The lower levels of the garden flood twice per day with the tidal changes on the Thames. The lowest terraces, retaining walls, lawns and borders were designed with this in mind and the garden changes its form accordingly as the water slowly rises and falls. Access for boats is still available at the lowest point.