Barn Conversion Meadow Garden, Amersham
A complete transformation from blank field into a wildlife friendly meadow garden
The clients had recently moved into this generously sized barn conversion looking out across fields, near the beautiful market town of Old Amersham. The developers had created a basic garden layout with a paved patio, retaining walls, a strip of lawn and a roofed gazebo, but the rest of the garden was bare and uninspiring. The clients were keen to create a wildlife friendly garden that was also fully explorable by their two small children, alongside spaces for family get togethers and entertaining. The open west facing aspect, whilst appealing, also meant that the sun beat onto the black barn and its vast expanses of glass unremittingly in the summer and the family desperately needed some options for shade. They also wanted a greenhouse, a wildlife pond, a hot tub, a water feature, and ‘something interesting’ in the driveway to distinguish it from the neighbouring property.
The design proposal seeks to address all of these requirements and more, adding soft verdant approaches to the barn, making it much more welcoming. Planting and lighting have been considered throughout, from what is suitable for the human occupants in the property to what will work for the wildlife they seek to attract to the surrounding spaces – dark skies are important in the wider garden.
The kids are catered for in myriad ways – from a willow tunnel and hideaway den nestled in the meadow to a looping bumpy track around the perimeter for bike and scooter fun. We also expect they will be fascinated to meet and learn about the creatures that will inevitably turn up in the large wildlife pond, and spend hours watching pond skaters, frogs and newts enjoying their new habitat.
This is just a concept design proposal for now (do make sure you watch the full walkthrough video at the end of the image gallery above), but we have been commissioned to work up a detailed masterplan from which the first phase of the garden construction is envisaged to take place very soon. Watch this space!