garden design and landscaping in Marlborough

Design-led gardens in Marlborough

Marlborough is one of the most handsome and affluent towns in Wiltshire, its famously wide High Street, the college and the ancient woodland of Savernake Forest all part of its character, set within the North Wessex Downs. We design and build considered gardens here for the right projects: full garden design and build, natural ponds and water features, fine planting and outdoor living.

The ground around Marlborough

Marlborough sits on chalk downland in the Kennet valley, and chalk is a very different brief from the clay vale or the Cotswold limestone. The ground drains fast and the soil over it is thin, flinty and alkaline, prone to drought in summer, so the planting palette leans toward drought-tolerant, chalk-loving species, and good soil preparation and mulching matter. Gravel gardens and considered courtyard schemes sit naturally on this ground. We design and plant for the chalk rather than against it.

In keeping with the setting

The properties here are period and high value, many within the conservation area, so taste, restraint and quality materials are what belong. We work to a design-led standard, with the detailing done properly, so a garden sits with the house and the downland setting.

Planning around Marlborough

Marlborough and the countryside around it sit within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, not the Cotswolds, but the principle is the same: on designated land the planning rules are stricter on materials, levels and what can be built, and the conservation area and listed stock tighten them further in town. We tell you what applies to your plot before we start, and point you to Wiltshire Council where a check or application is needed.

Talk to us about your Marlborough garden

Marlborough sits toward the edge of our patch, so we take it on for design-led projects and the jobs that suit us. Tell us about your garden and we will be straight about what we can do. Arrange a consultation to start.