This English Garden Boasts a Perennial Parade of Color
Landscape designer Jo Thompson could tell the overgrown, shabby gardens surrounding the 19th-century Ladham House had once been well loved. When the Italianate mansion’s new owners, a young family, asked her to reinvigorate the grounds, “we did so with a sense of respect to what was there while adding a fresh contemporary twist,” says Thompson.
For instance, she kept the structure of the existing double 260-foot-long borders but relaxed their formality, infusing a gentle zigzagging rhythm of mixed-height perennials and traditional pink roses—“such a British thing”—interspersed with grasses for an airy feel.
“There are extraordinary magnolias and mature trees framing these borders,” says Thompson, who built on this air of woodland mystery by introducing “pops of deep wine red” at the borders’ sunnier end, with wilder roses as the shade creeps in. “Instead of starting over, we regenerated what was there.”
Off a side patio, Thompson’s perennial garden in blues, pinks, and lilacs encircles a modern globe sculpture by David Harber. She echoed its curves with cloud-pruned topiary and allium, all softly blending into magnificent views of The Weald, the ancient natural forest well known in Southeast England.
In a previously unused part of the property, Thompson designed a sunken reclaimed York flagstone terrace and entertaining area surrounding an indoor pool and spa. “Here we can have a bit of contemporary fun,” says Thompson, noting manicured hedges of yew, hornbeam, and boxwood to give a cloistered effect and copious hydrangea in energizing dark green shades.
“A nod to Sissinghurst just down the road,” she says of the idea of a white garden but with a pared-down approach. “It’s all about taking our cues from the landscape, from history and research, to create a sense of place.”
2023 World's Most Beautiful Gardens winner for Best Perennial Parade; Design by Jo Thompson.
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