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.
