Shaftesbury

Unless you are blessed with beautiful views, gardens that fall away from a dwelling are notoriously more challenging than gardens that rise up from a house.

This garden falls away from a detached 1930s house with modern extension but has panoramic views to the Blackmore Vale.

In this instance, a simple and economical solution was to stamp four rectangular beds into the slope and edge them on two sides with local walling stone. The stone appears and disappears giving the impression of a footprint of a ruined dwelling. Proportions of the rectangular meadows have a direct relationship with the proportions of the house and this is more apparent during the winter months.

Each bed contains a fruit tree underplanted with meadow turf but due to the attention from the local deer population I might suggest they are replaced with yew topiary.