Synopsis
On receiving her first bonus in a new job as a pharmacy development manager, Caroline Cassell called in a garden landscaper to transform her tiny 11-metres x 4-metres town plot. ‘He worked to my design which included a circular deck, a stone circle and a circle of grass,’ she explains. Initially she had wanted two stone circles but because her budget did not stretch, one ended up as grass. ‘Actually, I love having lawn, but for such a tiny patch of grass, it costs the earth to look after,’ she admits. Thereafter, plants have been added as Christmas and birthday presents, and some are named after the donor — the beautiful pendulous birch that creates a natural shady canopy is called ‘Dermot’, after her brother. Visitors tend to think the garden is high maintenance, but Caroline reveals this is not the case because not everything is planted in the ground. ‘I keep a number of plants in pots, to slot in as they peak,’ she explains. She treats her garden as an additional room — there’s even wi-fi installed. ‘Indoors, I’m forever changing the furniture around, and I do the same in the garden.’ Creating her first garden has taught her a lot about plants, and she has come to love pottering there. ‘It has a calming effect, and is lovely to come home to after a busy day in the office,’ she says.
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