Exotic, huge, sculptural garden, featuring tropical/Mediterranean-zone plants. Dramatic, architectural planting including bananas, large tree ferns and rare palms, weave along curving stone paths, culminating in a paradise garden. A modern take on the rockery embeds glacial boulders amid dry zone plants, including many succulents. Sculptures by artist owner.
We have a new area with graveled beds and a view over the covered reservoir to Highgate Woods, and Kenwood in the distance. There are two wonderful stone terraces with lovely seating, sculptural teak roots from Indonesia, and an addition of 1.5 tons of glacial boulders and Westmoreland limestone rocks.
We were open for the National Garden Scheme for health and nursing charities on 8th September 2024 (with tea and delicious cakes). We welcomed 166 visitors, raising over £1400 for the NGS charities this year, and more than £5700 during our 5 years of opening.
Our NGS website: https://ngs.org.uk/gardens/12-lauradale-road-n2/
In September we had a visit from the Islington Art Society – Art in the Park group. See their paintings and blog here, and our page on the visit here.
The Paradise garden has several seating areas and a large central water feature – specially commissioned from India – as the hub of a network of curving stone paths. It is surrounded by a circular bed of fragrant herbs. An exotic orchard comprises pomegranate, peach, quince, apricot, loquat, prickly pear, fig and black mulberry and is complemented by a stone terrace featuring orange and lemon trees.
A Hartley Botanic greenhouse with a curved glass roof houses a propagation bench and many tender plants including cacti. A stand of Jaquemontii birch frames a view of Highgate Woods. Arid beds feature aloes and agaves. A small natural pond encourages wildlife.
Established palms, some of which are seven metres high, have recently been complemented by a variety of types, for instance a Chilean wine palm which will one dwarf them. Banana varieties include musa basjoo, ensete ventricosum and musella lasiocarpa. Other standout plants include tasmarisk, tetrapanax papyfer rex, grevilleas, tea trees, cycads, dasylirion, beschorneria, bamboos, yucca rostrata, bottle brush, bird of paradise, cistus, strawberry tree and mimosa. Mediterranean herbs feature throughout the garden, as does a wide range of pittosporums.
The garden design and implementation started in 2016, and is the result of a seven-year evolution, starting with watercolour designs by the owner of his dream garden in collaboration with garden designer Steve Buckley. Over twenty tons of stone from India and Portugal were used to create a structure to set off the planting, which is now maturing rapidly to realise the design.
