Garden Tour: Crab Apple Trees Flank a Stylish Courtyard Garden
A structure of pleached crab apple trees, bordered by wildflower meadow, links a minimal extension to an old house in Buckinghamshire
Set within two acres of pristine woodland, this detached house in Buckinghamshire did not lack outdoor space. ‘We just needed to organise it better,’ says Stefano Marinaz, who redesigned the front part of the garden. ‘The owners were parking their cars right in front of the kitchen window!’
With a modernist extension planned for the side of the house, it was the perfect time to rethink the exterior. ‘The new extension off to one side would naturally create a courtyard effect,’ says Marinaz, ‘so I wanted to link the extension to the existing house using this garden space.’
An ingenious mix of structured trees, stone paving and lush wildflower and perennial planting has done just that. Now it’s bye-bye cars and hello beautiful blossom, bees and butterflies.
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With a modernist extension planned for the side of the house, it was the perfect time to rethink the exterior. ‘The new extension off to one side would naturally create a courtyard effect,’ says Marinaz, ‘so I wanted to link the extension to the existing house using this garden space.’
An ingenious mix of structured trees, stone paving and lush wildflower and perennial planting has done just that. Now it’s bye-bye cars and hello beautiful blossom, bees and butterflies.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Wildflower meadow has been planted just outside the courtyard space, while within it, flanked by pleached crab apple trees, there are beds filled with perennials. ‘We got rid of the grass,’ says Marinaz. ‘There’s plenty at the back of the house where the kids play ball games, just before the woodland.’ A hedge of common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) runs along the fence line.
Check out 10 simple ideas to get you excited about your garden again
Check out 10 simple ideas to get you excited about your garden again
‘In terms of colours, I aimed to merge the extension with the existing house,’ says Marinaz. The extension is clad in shou sugi ban – burnt sugi boards. This traditional Japanese cladding technique uses carbonised cedar boards that are resistant to rot and fire and have a silver sheen. ‘To tie in with this and the older part of the house, I’ve used black and white tones and added in some deep purple shades, too,’ he says.
Visit Shou Sugi Ban for different variations of carbonised Japanese wood cladding
Visit Shou Sugi Ban for different variations of carbonised Japanese wood cladding
Taken in late April, this image shows the perennial beds blooming with tulips. Flower varieties in the beds include Tulipa ‘Angels Wish’ and ‘Queen of the Night’; Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’, and Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’.
In the terracotta pots are Helleborus orientalis; Sarcococca confusa, and Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’.
In the terracotta pots are Helleborus orientalis; Sarcococca confusa, and Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’.
Colour is woven through the scheme, but not simply on flowers. ‘I like to bring in colour on the foliage or with berries, too,’ says Marinaz.
Discover how to create a cottage-style garden
Discover how to create a cottage-style garden
Before Marinaz redesigned this space, it was simply grassed over and had been used for parking cars. ‘By moving the cars further away from the house, we could then create an attractive garden in the front,’ he says.
A modern extension was added to the house and Marinaz came on board to design the garden in front of it at around the same time.
Here, the extension has been clad with its distinctive dark wood and the garden is taking shape.
This image, taken while the garden was being redesigned, shows how the crab apple trees define the courtyard space. ‘They link the extension to the original part of the house,’ says Marinaz.
The pleached crab apple Malus ‘Evereste’ trees measure 3.8m high and 1.4m wide, with five tiers and a 1.9m clear stem.
The pleached crab apple Malus ‘Evereste’ trees measure 3.8m high and 1.4m wide, with five tiers and a 1.9m clear stem.
The 11 crab apple trees are each fitted with their own uplighter, so the whole area can be illuminated at night. ‘The York stone paths also have lights fitted into them,’ says Marinaz.
In spring, the crab apple trees are covered in blossom (this picture was taken in mid-April). In autumn, tiny crab apples cling to the branches. ‘You cut back new growth in the autumn, because you want the trees to keep the pleached form, otherwise they will grow like normal trees,’ says Marinaz. ‘So you prune the sides and top. The canopy gets denser but remains within this neat shape.’
Astrantia major ‘Shaggy’ and Allium sphaerocephalon bloom in the wildflower meadow in early July. The grass is Molinia caerulea ‘Karl Foerster’.
There are several key benefits to planting a wildflower meadow, says Marinaz. ‘The first is that it’s almost maintenance free. You cut it all back in late autumn, after the flowers have gone to seed, then leave the cut plants on the ground for two weeks, so the seeds can disperse back into the soil. You then remove all the cut-down planting and the meadow regenerates, with even more plants next year.’
There are several key benefits to planting a wildflower meadow, says Marinaz. ‘The first is that it’s almost maintenance free. You cut it all back in late autumn, after the flowers have gone to seed, then leave the cut plants on the ground for two weeks, so the seeds can disperse back into the soil. You then remove all the cut-down planting and the meadow regenerates, with even more plants next year.’
Another benefit of a wildflower garden is the minimal irrigation it requires. ‘You have to water it in the first year when it’s establishing, but after that you don’t have to irrigate it at all,’ says Marinaz. It also attracts insects. ‘Bees, butterflies and even dragonflies love it!’ he adds.
The wildflower meadow in early June, peppered with ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare).
Two years after planting, the perennial beds in early June are full of flowers and lush growth.
Among the plants here are Astrantia major ‘Claret’; Allium stipitatum ‘Mount Everest’, and Hakonechloa macra.
Among the plants here are Astrantia major ‘Claret’; Allium stipitatum ‘Mount Everest’, and Hakonechloa macra.
The perennial planting within the courtyard includes tall Molinia caerulea ‘Karl Foerster’ grasses. ‘They give a bit of height to these beds,’ explains Marinaz. ‘The extension is quite minimal, so we wanted to filter and soften it a bit, but without planting a solid, evergreen block that would obscure it. The grasses are transparent.’
As the perennials grow and gain height, the house is more or less obscured by the planting. ‘They come up gently, so you get different views of the house as the seasons change,’ he says. This image was taken in late September.
The plants include Actaea simplex ‘Atropurpurea Group’; Hakonechloa macra; Astrantia major ‘Shaggy’; Astrantia major ‘Claret’, and Aster divaricatus.
As the perennials grow and gain height, the house is more or less obscured by the planting. ‘They come up gently, so you get different views of the house as the seasons change,’ he says. This image was taken in late September.
The plants include Actaea simplex ‘Atropurpurea Group’; Hakonechloa macra; Astrantia major ‘Shaggy’; Astrantia major ‘Claret’, and Aster divaricatus.
Marinaz’s watercolour shows how the garden will eventually look. ‘At the base of the trees, we’ve planted Christmas box,’ he says. It’s difficult to get hold of this as a really mature plant, so it hasn’t grown up in these photographs, but this image shows how the box will look in a few more years. ‘It will eventually reach a metre high,’ says Marinaz.
Originally, there was a fence stretching between the garage and the house. ‘It was like a straight line across the property,’ says Marinaz. ‘I wanted to soften this divide between front and back.’
See 10 simple ways to create a gorgeous front garden
See 10 simple ways to create a gorgeous front garden
The solution was a series of yew hedges. ‘The fence was just going to rot and deteriorate, but this brings a green element all year round,’ says Marinaz.
The yew hedges are planted in a sequence. ‘It creates a buffered area, so you meander through them,’ says Marinaz. ‘Sometimes you see what’s behind, then you don’t. It blurs boundaries.’
There are uplights at the bottom of each crab apple tree. ‘They are attached to the trunk of the tree with a strap,’ Marinaz says. ‘This means that as the Christmas box below grows, you can move the light up the trunk without damaging the tree.’
The light will still be hidden inside the shrub, but not completely smothered by it, so it can still beautifully illuminate the tree. ‘It’s a simple, flexible way of adjusting the lights,’ the designer adds.
The light will still be hidden inside the shrub, but not completely smothered by it, so it can still beautifully illuminate the tree. ‘It’s a simple, flexible way of adjusting the lights,’ the designer adds.
All the outside lighting is LEDs. ‘You can choose the colour temperature you like,’ says Marinaz. ‘We went for 3000 Kelvins, which gives a warm white light.’
TELL US…
What do you like about this courtyard garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you like about this courtyard garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here A family of five
Location Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
Garden size This design sits within a 2 acre plot that includes woodland
Property A detached house, built in around 1900, with a modernist extension
Designer Stefano Marinaz of Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture
The garden at the front of this house is now just over three years old. ‘We started work on it in November and finished mid-Jan,’ says Marinaz. The courtyard garden links a contemporary extension with the house. This image shows the garden in early July.