BBC’s YOUR GARDEN MADE PERFECT

A HEALING GARDEN

There has been a growing focus on boosting ecology in our gardens in recent years which is amazing and is a foundation to our work but what's easily overlooked are the huge benefits this has to our mental health. I think this is the real challenge in our urban spaces. There are huge global issues surrounding the environment, changing our perspectives in our gardens can make an impact but what is most important and actually tangible to our everyday lives is to realign our placement within the natural world and to do that we need to change our perceptions of the places we inhabit most, why not start with your garden!

It's quite an unusual thought that a 'garden' would have once been a sanctuary to keep us safe from the wild. There's now so little wild left there's a real clamor to fill our gardens with as much wild as possible! What excites me is how we adapt and bring ourselves back into alignment through new approaches to gardens and landscapes.

I wanted to create a sanctuary, make the family feel cocooned in their own little haven where they could escape and spend time together with friends and family enveloped within the wild planting layers.

You enter the garden onto a paved surface perfect for a kitchen/dining area. A species rich lawn allows functionality but provides greater biodiversity benefits and less mowing. This leads to the heart of the garden, the 'Boma' (firepit) creating a space for socialising and solo contemplation, solid oak benches provide seating and informal play. The existing office building was made black to soften it to the lush green layers. A glass house provides extra opportunity to escape and spend time in the garden.