I grew up a few yards away from this Claygate Highways garden, and in 2013 was tasked with ‘what to do with it’ by the Claygate Parish Council. It is always very difficult to work with existing planting and much better to start from a blank canvas. The only plant left in place was the Prunus x subhirtellla ‘Autumnalis’ and I created a planting scheme working round this in a rather awkward shaped garden which only gets late afternoon sun. Having heavily pruned back overhanging shrubs and replaced the fence, creating a strong structure I tried to work out the planting using plants with year round interest. Being a highways garden it also needed to strike a balance of pretty , yet not too pretty… Plants used Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’, Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ , Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ , Rosa ‘Flower Carpet White’, Buddleja ‘Blue Chip’ , Juniperus communis ‘Green Carpet’, Stachys byzantina, Wisteria floribunda ‘Honbeni’, Hedera algeriensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’, Hydrangea anominla subsp. petiolaris, Hebe, Cyclamen. It will be interesting watch it develop !!
