Lawson Park Garden

lawsonparkhouse

At Lawson Park our ambition is to develop a naturalistic and contemporary garden which unites the slate house and barns at Lawson Park with the rugged landscape and views of the Old Man of Coniston around it.

It's also got to be economical, easily (sometimes erratically!) maintained and extendable as our needs/ budget allows.

With our erratic weather and short growing season, many Lake District gardens rely on heavy evergreen planting for their structure and year-round interest, but my interest in the work of garden designers like Dan Pearson and Piet Oudolf has lead me to try and develop a kind of 'Northern Prairie Planting' - finding wet-and-wind resistant plants, problem-solving without expensive and disruptive landscaping, and trying to get away with a relaxed maintenance regime throughout.

Our hard-landscaping is kept as natural as possible (local slate gravel and rough timber) and we have no lawn. The largely herbaceous planting ensures an incredibly dynamic atmosphere to the garden, with a surprising crescendo in August / September when many local gardens are at their dullest.

Pros:

Plenty of moisture (that's rain to you and me)
Plenty of space
Stunning, largely south-west facing setting
Natural stream
Polytunnel for relentless propagation
Almost no pests and diseases - bar slugs and the occasional deer

Cons:

Absolutely nothing here to start with
Less than 6" of stony, acidic soil on bedrock in most parts
Nearby dense coniferous forest excludes light in winter
Sloping ground throughout
Many exposed parts of site
Low budget
Impatient gardener with no additional help

Basics:

2001/2
Two deep herbaceous borders, each roughly 30m x 5m, running across the garden with slate gravel paths, bordered by mixed native hedgerow

2003/4
Natural stream (redesign in progress) with bog planting

2005/6
Woodland garden (roughly 60m x 50m) bordered by mixed native hedgerow; one-acre native meadow including fragrant orchid, pignut, milkmaids purse, ragged robin, burnet, meadowsweet, field scabious, bluebells, purple loosestrife, birdsfoot trefoil

2006/7
Kitchen garden (roughly 60m x 40m) with fruit, vegetables, bees and hens; conifer-felling and replacement with deciduous trees and shrub understorey; pond and bog redesign; development of smallholding

Read more:

Blog: Live from Lawson Park Garden
Up to date musings, rants and occasional pictures

Brantwood: Ruskin's Influence Renewed
An article I wrote on my next-door neighbour garden, originally published in the sadly shortlived magazine The Northern Garden

La Dolce Vita: In Cumbria?!
Another Northern Garden article, this time about an ambitious garden overlooking Morecambe Bay and growing a wide range of tender plants in a Victorian atmosphere

Cumbria's best-kept gardening secrets:

Halecat Garden Nurseries nr Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
A lovely old-fashioned nursery with stockbeds and greenhouses, elderly gardeners and monumental, slug-free hostas

Next Ness Nurseries nr Ulverston, Cumbria (T 01229 583622)
Impeccably-kept, low-key plant-focussed nursery, excellent value for money plants

Yewbarrow House in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
Flamboyant Italianate new garden - opens each summer under the National Gardens Scheme

Chiltern Seeds nr Ulverston
Fantastic seed supplier (mail order and online) of so many of my plants


	At Lawson Park our ambition is to develop a naturalistic and contemporary garden which unites the slate house and barns at Lawson Park with the rugged landscape and views of the Old Man of Coniston around it. It's also got to be economical, easily (sometimes erratically!) maintained and extendable as our needs/ budget allows. With our erratic weather and short growing season, many Lake District gardens rely on heavy evergreen planting for their structure and year-round interest, but my interest in the work of garden designers like Dan Pearson and Piet Oudolf has lead me to try and develop a kind of 'Northern Prairie Planting' - finding wet-and-wind resistant plants, problem-solving without expensive and disruptive landscaping, and trying to get away with a relaxed maintenance regime throughout. Our hard-landscaping is kept as natural as possible (local slate gravel and rough timber) and we have no lawn. The largely herbaceous planting ensures an incredibly dynamic atmosphere to the garden, with a surprising crescendo in August / September when many local gardens are at their dullest.
Pros: Plenty of moisture (that's rain to you and me) Plenty of space Stunning, largely south-west facing setting Natural stream Polytunnel for relentless propagation Almost no pests and diseases - bar slugs and the occasional deer Cons: Absolutely nothing here to start with Less than 6" of stony, acidic soil on bedrock in most parts Nearby dense coniferous forest excludes light in winter Sloping ground throughout Many exposed parts of site Low budget Impatient gardener with no additional help
	Basics: 2001/2 Two deep herbaceous borders, each roughly 30m x 5m, running across the garden with slate gravel paths, bordered by mixed native hedgerow 2003/4 Natural stream (redesign in progress) with bog planting 2005/6 Woodland garden (roughly 60m x 50m) bordered by mixed native hedgerow; one-acre native meadow including fragrant orchid, pignut, milkmaids purse, ragged robin, burnet, meadowsweet, field scabious, bluebells, purple loosestrife, birdsfoot trefoil 2006/7 Kitchen garden (roughly 60m x 40m) with fruit, vegetables, bees and hens; conifer-felling and replacement with deciduous trees and shrub understorey; pond and bog redesign; development of smallholding
Read more: Blog: Live from Lawson Park Garden Up to date musings, rants and occasional pictures Brantwood: Ruskin's Influence Renewed An article I wrote on my next-door neighbour garden, originally published in the sadly shortlived magazine The Northern Garden La Dolce Vita: In Cumbria?! Another Northern Garden article, this time about an ambitious garden overlooking Morecambe Bay and growing a wide range of tender plants in a Victorian atmosphere	Cumbria's best-kept gardening secrets: Halecat Garden Nurseries nr Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria A lovely old-fashioned nursery with stockbeds and greenhouses, elderly gardeners and monumental, slug-free hostas Next Ness Nurseries nr Ulverston, Cumbria (T 01229 583622) Impeccably-kept, low-key plant-focussed nursery, excellent value for money plants Yewbarrow House in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria Flamboyant Italianate new garden - opens each summer under the National Gardens Scheme Chiltern Seeds nr Ulverston Fantastic seed supplier (mail order and online) of so many of my plants