Arts and Crafts

An Arts and Crafts garden in the Surrey Hills, restored to reveal its Gertrude Jekyll roots with layered perennial planting and timeless materials.

Surrey Hills Garden Design – An Arts and Crafts Garden Reimagined

This garden design project in the Surrey Hills, near Kingswood and Reigate, began after the client won a Nic Howard Garden Design consultation at a charity auction. What was initially intended as a simple refresh of a mature border soon evolved into a far more ambitious and rewarding transformation.

The garden sits alongside a mellow brick Arts and Crafts villa, and as the site was explored, it became clear that years of incremental change had obscured its original structure. Overgrown conifers and dense Buxus hedging were masking the underlying bones of what was unmistakably a Gertrude Jekyll–inspired garden.

By carefully removing these elements, the historic framework of the garden was revealed. A series of generous stone steps sweep down into a sunken garden, flanked by a beautifully crafted flint wall, a powerful architectural moment that now forms the heart of the design.

The restoration focused on reinstating a sense of abundance and harmony through planting. The garden was transformed with a soft haze of layered perennials, creating movement, colour, and long seasonal interest. Geraniums, Nepeta, Alchemilla, and Penstemon form the backbone of the planting, delivering rich colour and texture, while fresh white accents of Lysimachia and Leucanthemum lift and unify the palette.

Ornamental grasses are woven through the borders to provide structure beyond the flowering season, ensuring the garden remains beautiful throughout the year. Together, the planting and materials create a garden that feels both generous and grounded, one that honours its Arts and Crafts origins while feeling vibrant and alive today.

The result is a timeless Surrey Hills garden that is deeply rooted in its history and truly breathtaking in effect.