The Countryside Garden Spa

The Landscape:

Nestled within a delightful expanse of East Oxfordshire countryside, we were thrilled to bring this blank canvas landscape to life with a luxurious rural garden design. A truly authentic project, this design encompassed a variety of hard and soft landscaping elements such as an outdoor dining space, a burgeoning kitchen garden and even an exclusive spa garden retreat! Overlooking a breathtaking landscape of rolling emerald hills, this idyllic space was ready to be enhanced with a bespoke design that corresponded perfectly with its existing natural surroundings. Crafted to be used throughout all seasons, this design perfectly highlights the beauty of outdoor living design that works in unison with nature both practically and aesthetically. Come with us on a guided tour, as we walk you through the process of how we created this dreamy countryside garden spa.

The brief:

The initial brief for this project was to frame this space with a number of tranquil features that reflected both the style and setting of this glorious country house. As you walk into this garden you are firstly greeted by a family of flagstone steps that we reclaimed and refreshed within the design. To the left a trough water feature lies embedded within a planted border. As you walk out from the house we created a vast lower terrace area from crisp flagstone paving, paired beautifully with the adjacent reclaimed steps.

Welcoming you up and into the garden, our masterly landscaping team constructed an exclusive outdoor kitchen/dining space. Situated on the upper terrace, this timber-framed outdoor room is the perfect place to welcome an abundance of guests for summer soirées or cosy autumn drinks. Shaping an idyllic dining area,  this outdoor room slots perfectly into the gardenscape without disturbing the native layout of this area. With the expert craftsmanship of our team, this sheltered structure ensures that all of your al fresco feasts and late-night catchups can continue no matter the weather or time of year.

As we move through the garden, we next enter into the kitchen garden. Combining a selection of sturdy wooden raised sleepers, our team crafted a collection of stylish vegetable beds. Soon to be thriving and flourishing with waves of home-grown produce, this serene culinary garden space is a fabulously sustainable way of enhancing your lifestyle and boosting your meals with scrumptious ingredients plucked fresh from the garden.

As you drift out from the kitchen garden, you join a smart metal-edged gravel pathway that twists and turns leading you up to a vast oak hardwood decking area. Here we find an exclusive garden spa, tucked away and settled within the expansive landscape of this country garden. Walking up onto this grand decking, a sauna and rustic tub sits to the right overlooking a heavenly Oxfordshire vista. The perfect spot to relax back in bubbles as you switch off to the tranquil sounds and scenery of the garden. Behind the tub we placed a corresponding oak screen to house bath robes, lighting and taps. Sunken within the decking we also integrated a planting pocket constructed from oak sleepers to dress the space with a glorious planting scheme.

Once you have indulged in a quick dip, why not cool off in the soothing outdoor shower space? Filled with a vibrant and textured planting scheme, this spot is a delightful space to awaken your senses. To put the finishing touches to your spa garden retreat, glide down a selection of oak steps and enjoy a drink at the lower seating area. Another angle for you to admire the breathtaking scenery before you, this space is wonderful place for a daytime catchup, solo relax or even a late-evening drink.

Planting scheme:

To bring this garden spa to life with radiance and volume, our skilled team of planting designers carefully curated this striking prairie style planting design. A naturalistic composition containing drifts of Echinacea pallida and the painterly textures of Helenium Moerheim Beauty through to the seedheads of Verbena bonariensis in autumn’s mercurial light. To enhance the fluid and relaxing ambience of this space, a collection of grasses have also been woven throughout the scheme. This planting choice was inspired to enhance movement, a wilder touch of inspiration that blends seamlessly with the land beyond.

For the copper shower and bathing areas, we cocooned these spaces with a lush collection of evergreens. To then echo the contemplative and natural feeling further we included a collection of tall Echinacea purpurea Magnus showstoppers. Here the healthy spa planting brings an all-year verdancy of life in the garden.

Find out how we can transform your outdoor space into a gorgeous garden that you’ll want to use every day.