L K Bennett
The L K Bennett Garden
Designer: Rachel de Thame
Contractor: Clifton Nurseries
Sponsor: S G Hambros
Plant ListThe design of The L K Bennett Garden embraces modern urban life and contemporary style, but acknowledges a yearning for the romantic planting of a traditional English country garden. It is elegant, feminine and curvaceous.
The garden is a haven in which to escape from city life, relax, and enjoy small-scale entertaining.
Inspiration for the garden was found in the glamour and femininity of the 1950s, including rose-printed cocktail dresses of the period, Cecil Beaton’s costume and hat designs for the Ascot scene in the film My Fair Lady and Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures.
The design of the garden includes a curved sculptural steel structure, which appears to float over water. The garden features predominantly natural materials; slate tiles are used for the flooring, with small offcuts used to face the curved terraced raised beds.
A sloping curving wall, which wraps around the seating area, provides the support for a simple timber bench. A still pool of water abutting the edge of the garden and flowing beneath the sculpture reflects the linear steel rods, which will have planting incorporated along the base.
The garden marries strong contemporary design with softness and opulence in the planting, capturing the ebullient look of a country garden. A palette of soft pinks, rich burgundy and maroon predominate.
Ground cover and patio roses spill over the edges of the raised beds creating a cascade of flowers. Shrub roses, peonies and a range of perennials, including irises, aquilegia and grasses fill the other beds. Tulips add seasonal colour and evergreen shrubs, including box, ensure year-round structure and continuity. A single Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ is a key structural plant towards the front of the garden.