A two acre garden surrouding a Regency former vicarage in Brixton, south London.

The garden has had a degree of formal structure imposed on it with a central lawn, paths and open meadow area, while retaining much of its wild and romantic character.

Although it is located in the heart of Brixton, the garden is surrounded by mature woodland and home to a range of wildlife.

The central lawn from the second floor of the house.

The lawn is surrounded by spontaneous woodland and former garden plants gone wild, including comfrey, daylillies, Crocosmia and a carpet of bluebells. Before its redesign, both house and garden lay abandoned for seventeen years.

View along the central lawn, edged with box.

The lawn was designed to centre on a large copper beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea group), the natural focal point of the garden.

Around the base of the tree a gravel circle edged with reclaimed bricks makes a threshold with the other lawn beyond.

The formal cultivated lawn is framed with a low box hedge. The wilder area beyond has been generally left as it is, except for the removal of some brambles and the planting of small trees and shrubs to form an understorey woodland layer. As a result the garden remains rich in wildlife.

The central lawn with a herbaceous border in the foreground and woodland beyond