A wild Oxfordshire plot has been transformed into a SPECTACULAR SPACE for Miriam Maus and partner Ben
GARDEN makeover
Missing the countryside, open spaces and the feel of community that comes with village life, Miriam Maus, her partner Ben and Australian terrier Zac decided to move from suburban Oxford to a more rural location nearby. The detached house, built in 1976, that became their new home was situated on the site of an old quarry and because it’s built into the side of a steep incline, has an upstairs living room and a bedroom opening directly onto the garden. “The garden was a big attraction of the house but at the same time incredibly daunting,” remembers Miriam. “The fact that it’s on different levels with lots of separate areas presented us with potential. The biggest drawback was that the bottom of the garden was connected to the top by a narrow and often slippery set of wooden steps. But where and how to start?”
The couple love gardening, growing their own veggies and dining alfresco with friends, so having a more accessible outside space was important to them, and redesigning the garden was always on the cards. But five years after moving in, the time was finally right. “I’ve been lucky and have always lived somewhere with a garden and access to nature,” says Miriam. “I pretty much took that for granted until the pandemic; the first lockdown in spring 2020 brought it home to me how much outdoor space contributes to my wellbeing.”
Make the most of your patio, turn to p42
BEFORE
A GARDEN OF TWO HALVES
A neighbour had used garden designer Doug Holloway (dougholloway.co.uk) and, liking what they saw, the couple met him and commissioned a design. “I was asked to redesign the whole garden, with emphasis on the connection between the lower and higher levels,” explains Doug. “The garden was broken into two spaces: an upper area that was relatively wild with mature trees and curved asymmetrical lawn terraces, and a lower area three metres down, which felt incredibly deep. These spaces were only connected via an almost vertical set of wooden steps covered in algae, which I slipped on during our first meeting!” Each area had its own challenges and potential. “The lower area was shady but from midday started to get the light,” says Doug. “It had a real sense of having been carved out of the earth when it was a quarry. The wild walls were full of life, the layers of crumbly stone packed with Alchemilla mo
