Brick House, Kent

Surrounded by beautiful countryside, it is quite easy to see why Matt and Lisa fell in love with Brick House farmhouse. A winding path meandering round a large pond and mature trees leads you down to the 18th century property, which has retained plenty of original features. The house required a major overhaul wen they moved in with their young family and they painstakingly renovated the interior to its former glory before turning their attention to the outside. The garden had become a building site with only an old, dirty pool remaining and they sought the help of local garden designer, Kate Ball. The pool was renovated with the addition of a stone terrace around it and four square beds edged with bricks were carved out from the large lawn. For the planting, Matt and Lisa asked Kate to focus on a cool palette. She chose to mix perennials such as Salvia, Veronicastrum, Gaura, Verbena bonariensis and Geranium with grasses, Stipa, Misanthus and Calamagrostis echoing the barley cobs just on the other side of the fence. The soft and naturalistic style of the plants help blur the boundary between the garden and the surrounding landscape.