Mr and Mrs Dutt have built a high tech energy efficient house in East Devon with a very modern look. The location however is in the heart of a charming Victorian walled garden and the planning requirements of both house and garden were very strict. In fact those requirements included creating a digital record of the build, accessible to the public, which gives a wonderful photographic insight into the journey.

www.thewalledgardendevon.uk

The build took place between October 2017 and December 2018 and they laid the first area of turf in February 2019. This area is slightly separate from the garden which wraps around the house and so could be completed earlier, being away from the house construction work.

The rest of the garden includes several lawned areas of different natures. In the front is a beautifully symmetrical lawn echoing the formal structure of the old walled garden. To the rear are more sloping and fluid areas of grass, dotted with specimen trees and rolling down to a ha-ha giving a stunning vista across the Devon countryside beyond.

The couple had introduced many plants and trees into the garden, including some propagated from plants at their previous home nearby, to implement Mrs Dutt’s landscape design plan which was set out in great detail for the planning application.

Owing to the irregular shapes of the areas and the ongoing work and development, the ground preparation, planting and turf laying was done bit by bit, starting at the front and working anti-clockwise around the house.

Working with their landscaper, Jason Roberts of Roberts Landscape & Gardening, the Dutt’s ordered topsoil and turf for each area in turn, completing it before moving round to the next area. By following the flow of the garden each completed area could be allowed to bed in without disturbance for the most effective results. 

The end result is really superb. Jason’s turf laying is immaculate and the garden will go from strength to strength as the plants mature.