Watership Down

A prairie-style country garden in Reigate, Surrey, designed to overcome severe rabbit damage while celebrating views of the North Downs and Surrey Hills.

Reigate Garden Design – A Prairie-Style Garden with Far-Reaching Views

This garden design project in Reigate Heath, Surrey, began with a deceptively simple question asked during one of my talks: “How do you stop rabbits?” For this client, it was a very real problem. The garden had been completely overrun, with rabbits thwarting every attempt to establish planting and leaving the landscape effectively barren.

Set on light, sandy soil with breathtaking views across the North Downs, Surrey Hills, and the Reigate Heath Windmill, the site was otherwise a blank canvas. The challenge was to create a garden robust enough to withstand persistent wildlife pressure while still delivering the client’s dream of a relaxed English country garden.

Our first priority was protection. We installed well-stocked, rabbit-proof borders, discreetly lined with low-level chicken wire to deter digging and grazing. This allowed us to confidently introduce a carefully selected palette of rabbit-resistant plants, ensuring the garden could establish and thrive.

With the planting strategy secured, the wider design took shape. The dramatic setting called for a strong landscape gesture, leading to the introduction of a watercourse and cascade that draws the eye through the garden and adds sound, movement, and atmosphere.

Purbeck limestone retaining walls were constructed to create generous prairie-style planting borders, shaping the land and framing sweeping lawns. These borders are planted simply but boldly, allowing texture, form, and seasonal change to take centre stage while complementing the architecture of the contemporary thatched cottage.

The result is a confident, resilient garden that embraces its setting, a contemporary interpretation of a country garden that balances practicality with beauty, and proves that even rabbits don’t have to win.