Game Keepers Cottage is a landscaping project completed by Daniel Shea.
The home is located in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England.
Game Keepers Cottage by Daniel Shea:
“Daniel Shea initially his client Jacky while exhibiting his debut show garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2012, but it wasn’t until a few weeks after that she called to invite him over to her property to look at her unique and exciting project.
Jacky and her husband Gary own the former game keeper’s cottage, in Hertford, Hertfordshire. It’s a beautiful spot, surrounded by fields and accessed by a long private track that leads you to the property and its surrounding gardens. It was formerly part of the Panshanger estate, a large country house located between the outer edge of Hertford and Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. There are still numerous outbuildings that they use to this day.
The design brief for the garden was to create panoramic views that would be enjoyed from inside all year round and to include paths leading out into the garden and to other areas of the property.
The design is inspired by new and old; The contemporary tastes of the clients with their designer furniture and kitchen, abundance of glass and subtle palettes of grey and white, and the old; with traditional and rural influences that surround the property such as the cockerel weather vane and the dog tooth brick walls that line the Southern perimeter. The design is sympathetic to both, and it’s this ethos which is consistently referenced.
Sun bleached Balau decking leads out from the bi fold doors and immediately onto the full length reflection pool. This feature really helps accentuate the grand scale of the kitchen and it’s relationship with the garden. The two areas are almost symmetrical in dimensions and with the dual aspect biflold doors, the garden and kitchen integrate seamlessly.
The long herbaceous border that spans the length of the kitchen is planted up of late summer perennials such as; Echinacea Purpurea ‘White Swan’, Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Alba’and Sedum telephium ‘Purple Emperor’. Grasses of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘karl foerster’, Stipa tenuissima and Stipa gigantean provide the wonderful golden hazy colours of summer and finally the herbs of Lavender, sage and Fennel tie in with agricultural surroundings of the property.
The paths that adjoin the property with its outbuildings and entrances are a mix of locally sourced York stone red brick. Large chunky silver oak Pergola rises above the tall grasses and leads the way along a York stone path to the front door.”
Photos by: Elliot Hook
