Brick, flint and salvias

A converted barn needed a garden with enough structure to hold its own against the architecture, without feeling hard or municipal.

Sandstone paving, reclaimed brick retaining walls and flint panels pick up the materials of the building itself, stepping the garden gently down and creating sheltered places to sit.

Against all that stone, the planting is deliberately loose and generous: deep purple salvias, silver-leaved perennials and grasses that catch the light and move in the wind.