THE HIDE GARDEN

Designer: Emily Crowley-Wroe

RHS Awards: Silver-Gilt Medal and Best Show Garden

As people were forced to spend more time at home during lockdown, many of us experienced a new appreciation of our local landscapes. The Hide Garden celebrated nature on your doorstep and represented a private nature retreat, transporting the owner to a favourite place by the river.

A garden office lead out onto a 6 x 6m garden where an angled deck area made from composite decking flowed from the internal space and featured sculptural carved benches crafted from recycled wood.

Facing onto a pebble pond recalling the shallows of the River Eye, the seating area invited reflection and connection with nature. Playful stepping boulders created movement and allowed closer inspection of plants and their wildlife visitors. Willow hurdles enclosed the garden and a living roof and wall panels all played on the structure of a nature hide. Inspired by a local nature reserve the garden tapped into its archetypal layers and forms in the planting as an emotive connection to place.