Our client in Oxfordshire wanted to turn their blank canvas garden into an ornamental kitchen garden, with a beautiful greenhouse as the centre piece.
After an alarming amount of rubbish was found behind some overgrown Leylandii, courtesy of previous neighbours, James Alexander-Sinclair (our clients' garden designer) had a challenge on his hands. The garden literally went through a sieve and they were left with a pile of good soil and a pile of rubbish. The prohibitive cost of getting rid of the rubbish meant that ingenuity was called for. James chose to create a landscape of hills and softly ascending bumps which hid the waste with good soil.
Planning permission was needed for the greenhouse as part of a major refurbishment of the property and grounds. This was sought by Alitex on behalf of the client and gave the go ahead on this unique project.
As the client wanted a statement focal point to their new ornamental garden, the greenhouse had to impress; the final design evolved from freestanding to a octagonal glasshouse. The Alitex design team introduced columns to support the structural ring beam and a high eaves height for the gutter to blend naturally into the structure.
The benching and floor grids were specially commissioned to fit in with the octagonal structure. A central planter was installed, making the best use of space, and the venting was built in to the turret with cold frames fitted on to the four facets.
Here is some more information on hexagonal and octagonal greenhouses.
