This small garden in Swanage was set above the bungalow it surrounds and so was visible both at ground level and from within. This unusual viewpoint meant that I could create some interesting plant and textural associations. The clients had moved from a large traditional garden and wanted something completely different, something that fitted in with the contemporary bungalow they had retired to.

I designed stone benches to tie in (and lessen the effect of) the imposing existing Purbeck stone boundary wall, while the solid oak seat tops linked the exterior with the house by reflecting the solid oak beams of the interior. These benches are positioned to maximise the fine sea views and are a sculptural feature in their own right.

Drifts of herbs and grasses including salvias and calaminthas are scattered informally through a surface of stone chippings to give colour and movement throughout the year, while two Amelanchier trees and a planting of box balls with the evergreen grass Stipa arundinacea give a sense of permanence to the planting.