THE
PETERSHAM
PLANTSMAN
— Where beautiful living takes shape —
Strawberry Fields
A playful front garden inspired by music, memory and a sense of wonder.
The brief was to transform a front garden where grass had failed to establish into something more welcoming, engaging and full of interest. The existing garden was largely open and simple, with just two mature conifers and cherry trees, but lacked definition and personality at the entrance to the house.
The clients, both creative and with roots in the 1960s music scene, were open to a more expressive and imaginative approach. The intention was to create a space that felt slightly unexpected—more like a small world of discovery than a conventional front garden—while still remaining grounded and usable.
The layout is broadly symmetrical, with two driveways on either side and paths converging towards the front door. This underlying geometry provides clarity, while the planting softens and disrupts the formality through variety and movement.
At the centre of the composition sits a large topiary mushroom, carved from an existing shrub. This acts as a focal point and a subtle reference to the clients’ cultural background, giving the garden a slightly surreal, playful character. Rather than relying on multiple clipped forms, structure is instead hidden within layers of evergreen planting.
The planting palette draws on species from a wide range of origins, creating a sense of diversity and movement throughout the space. Bamboo, miscanthus, Calycanthus, Acca and Fabiana all contribute different textures and rhythms, building a planting scheme that feels varied and exploratory rather than formal.
The site is open and sunny with poor soil, which was improved before planting. This allowed for a more experimental palette to establish and thrive in full light, reinforcing the garden’s energetic character.
From the entrance, the garden shifts as you move through it—structured in layout, but deliberately loose and evolving in planting. There is a sense of movement and surprise, with planting guiding the eye rather than controlling it.
The success of the garden lies in its atmosphere: a small, contained landscape that feels playful, slightly surreal, and always in motion, where familiar forms are reinterpreted into something more imaginative and unexpected.