Sandbanks

Boasting some of the best views of Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island, this contemporary home required a landscape design that helped it blend into its surroundings. Set on a steep, sloping site with a 9m level change from the back of the house to the shore line, the garden needed to make the best use of the levels, with meandering steps bringing to the foreshore garden below. A decked seating area projects out onto the water and a pergola festooned with climbers creates a sheltered area adjacent to a boat house. Soft undulating mounds of ornamental grasses, dwarf pines and drifts of perennial planting bring texture and colour. At the rear of the house is a sun terrace and water feature, sheltered and perfect for outdoor entertaining. Deciduous multi stem trees provide a mid layer to the tall existing pines that surround the building. At the front of the house is a courtyard garden with a crisp natural stone terrace, cloud pruned pines and drifts of planting surrounded by gravel.