Valley Garden – One Acre Art Retreat
This elaborate garden is full of surprised at every turn. Nestled in the lush Rivelin Valley it is expansive with 9 garden rooms, all distinct in character from the shady Zen Garden planted with lush ferns and astilbe to the wildflower meadow with a sinuous dry-stone retaining wall leading to the cobbled seating area with fire pit and pergola.
Outside the home, the existing flag stone patio was power washed and mortared with colourful mosaic details. The pond was increased in size – a round stone was repurposed for the water fountain where the client placed his father’s plaque. This garden has unique and meaningful details throughout. The new potting station made from repurposed stone was found to have ‘Glenn’ inscribed, which is the name of the Road the property on. New timber edged steps, near the clients’ beautiful remembrance Birch, now makes the lower garden more easily accessible. It leads to the new greenhouse and further down to the new garden and paths taking inspiration from Zen Gardens. Paths leading to the Studio Buildings have been edged and gravelled and the driveway refinished.
The built elements were constructed by the team at Sheffield Landscaping & Decking who skilfully brought to life the garden features and seeded the flower meadow. The clients took a more hands on approach for the planting. I created a planting palette for each planting bed that the clients choose from, and we then selected the plants together in person from our favourite New Leaf Plant Centre.
The clients open their doors to host retreats in their stunning garden with studios available for hire.
Features
- Flower meadow garden with cobbled patio, sinuous dry-stone wall leading to the curved stone seating area with fire pit in the centre
- Potting bench made with reclaimed stone materials
- Pond located within the existing patio was increased in size. A repurposed circular stone is used that the waterfall feature
- Mosaic details in between the existing paving slabs. The client’s colourful plates were used as the mosaic material
- Zen Garden with gravel paths leading to a central
- Decorative wood log store framing the lower Zen Garden
- Timber edged steps leading to the Zen Garden
- Greenhouse
- Planting refresh throughout the garden
- Driveway resurfacing






