{"id":12175,"date":"2026-04-12T08:46:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T08:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/12175\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T08:46:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T08:46:37","slug":"a-secret-london-garden-that-bursts-into-life-each-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/12175\/","title":{"rendered":"A secret London garden that bursts into life each spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

As with the best kind of secret garden, the raw materials just needed teasing out: rusting urns were found in the undergrowth, ready to be reconditioned and painted black; and a second magnolia, previously hidden in the shrubbery, became a focal point.<\/p>\n

Downstairs, the view is mainly evergreen. A retaining wall, built at a comfortable height for sitting, is flanked by generously proportioned steps built from the stone originals. Being rather narrow, the treads were deepened at the rear with planting pockets; Soleirolia soleirolii (mind-your-own-business) creeps over the stone, easily confined in this arrangement.<\/p>\n

\"Euphorbia<\/p>\n

Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae and clipped yew set off a found urn.<\/p>\n

alister thorpe<\/p>\n

The client\u2019s brief was to preserve the atmosphere of an old town garden but also to open it up \u2013 bringing greenery closer to the house through the year, as well as a crescendo of blossom in spring and more low-key flowers<\/a> in early summer. Above the retaining wall, a slope is informally planted with ferns mixed with rounded Asarum europaeum and Muehlenbeckia complexa (maidenhair vine). Flowers are white, edited down to Allium \u2018Mont Blanc\u2019 in spring and Anemone x hybrida \u2018Honorine Jobert\u2019 in the autumn.<\/p>\n

Further into the L-shaped garden, paving gives way to a steel-edged gravel path. This turns a corner into a private area, hidden behind a high wall \u2013 hung with mosaics and a young wisteria \u2013 and sheltered by the wide canopy of a fourth Prunus x yedoensis. Throughout, furniture is kept simple. By the microfootball- pitch lawn there is a bespoke oak bench, created by a sawmill in Sussex, while comfortable seating from Indian Ocean is arranged around the firepit. Out of season and without their cushions, the shapes of the wooden chairs are pleasantly transparent. In this very secluded space, Rosa glauca is ranged along a brick wall, combined with R. \u2018The Generous Gardener\u2019 and climbing R. \u2018Albertine\u2019. In adjacent areas of sun or shade, the planting palette remains muted. Tulips are followed by martagon lilies in dark reds and pinks, with flashes of clarity from Tulipa \u2018Spring Green\u2019 and the early Erythronium \u2018Pagoda\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Two elegant magnolias were liberated from an overgrown shrubbery.<\/p>\n

alister thorpe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As with the best kind of secret garden, the raw materials just needed teasing out: rusting urns were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[5778,329,27,5779],"class_list":["post-12175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-city-gardens","tag-gardens","tag-london","tag-spring-gardens"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116390866608540157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}