Tom Stuart-Smith

County Durham garden

This garden has two opposing faces, reflecting the Janus-like nature of its house. On one side, a muscular Elizabethan hulk perches above the River Tees. On the other a polite Georgian facade gazes onto svelte lawns dotted with mature trees.

Working with the architect Ptolemy Dean, our strategy for the landscape accentuates this contrast. On the river side the garden was limited to a small enclosed court planted formally with box-edged flower beds. Beyond this the landscape reverts to a wilder state with clumps of gorse and birch. On the south front we created a new formal garden and viewing terrace over a precipice, where one can see the wild river landscape from the relative comfort of the flower garden. The walled garden was replanted with a mixture of flowers, fruit and vegetables and a greenhouse and conservatory added.