New beginnings: Church Barn in Summer

Church Barn, an 18th-century building near Braintree in Essex, was originally surrounded by a garden divided by high brick walls into two separate areas — a lawn at the rear and a parking space at the front.

By replacing one of the brick walls with an elegant mild-steel fence, we maintained a sense of enclosure while connecting the two spaces. This change also allowed the creation of a terrace from what had been a parking area.

The former lawn was transformed into a richly planted perennial garden designed to attract wildlife. Grasses such as Sesleria autumnalis and Sporobolus heterolepis form a unifying matrix, interwoven with bulbs and over a thousand perennials for year-round interest. Ten new multistem trees, including Amelanchier, Clerodendrum trichotomum, Koelreuteria paniculata and Magnolia × loebneri ‘Merrill’, provide structure and seasonal beauty.

Meandering gravel paths lead to three distinct zones: a sunbathing area, a fire pit space, and a sunny corner ideal for morning coffee. Climbing roses—‘Claire Austin’, ‘Mortimer Sackler’ and ‘The Generous Gardener’—adorn the barn and remaining walls.

In summer, the garden reaches its peak with swaying grasses like Stipa ichu and Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, complemented by perennials such as Sedum ‘José Aubergine’, Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ and *Sanguisorba canadensis’.

Photography: Alister Thorpe · Landscape construction: Shoots and Leaves · Awards: Perennial Plant Association – Awards of Excellence (2023); Society of Garden Designers – SGD Awards Winner, UK (2024) – The Judges’ Award; Society of Garden Designers – SGD Awards Winner, UK (2024) – Medium Residential Landscapes & Gardens; Society of Garden Designers – SGD Awards Winner, UK (2024) – Design for the Environment