Exhibitors
Courtyard gardens
Fiona Bruce
A Shady Courtyard
Designer: Fiona Bruce
Sponsor: Station Garage (Taplow)
Contractors: TreetopLandscapes Ltd, Woods Yard Lts
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An old stableyard conversion nestling somewhere amongst the fields and woods of the Thames Valley forms the backdrop to this small plot, which shows that tiny and shady doesn’t have to mean dark and dank, and that limited space can still accommodate a garden to satisfy a plantsman and nature lover.
The white painted weatherboard building, complete with tiled roof and stable door, faces a garden shaded both outside and in by trees, notably the beautiful Tibetan cherry, Prunus serrula. The framework of brick and flint walls (slightly dilapidated in places), clipped hedges and topiary help to balance the trees. A second ‘doorway’ seems to lead to yet more garden beyond, giving a greater sense of depth. A path of stableyard cobbles mixed with other reclaimed materials steps down to lead over a small stream, flowing out of a clay piped culvert and across the garden. The stream is not natural and is installed deliberately to increase light and movement.
The plant collection, chosen to thrive not only in the limey soil but also in varying degrees of shade, uses a restricted palette of colour in this tiny space. Structural evergreens such as the topiary and variegated holly contrast with the subtly veined leaves of the climber Parthenocissus henryana, the striking leaf forms of ferns, and a tapestry of perennials including the silvery Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost', with Rosa banksiae flowering around the door - the only place where the sun strikes when the trees are in leaf.
An eclectic mix of bric-a-brac ornaments the garden, including an Edwardian washstand, a bronze vase and a café chair. Birds and insects are encouraged by the provision of a small log pile, bug boxes, a thatched bird table and a hand-painted nesting box (complete with nest)
The scene sets a rural theme familiar to country- and nature-lovers everywhere, and could easily be part of a larger garden, or adapted for any small front or back garden in town or country.