Following Thomas Church’s maxim that ‘gardens are for people’, designer Matthew Childs has ensured his own garden at Ivy Cottage in Surrey is a magical place for its inhabitants’ total relaxation and enjoyment
WORDS JILL ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHS JOANNA KOSSAK
It would be difficult to miss Ivy Cottage. It sits in a splendid, exposed position, but the visibility is more about the colour of the house: a splendid warm ochre that sings out among the trees. When garden designer Matthew Childs and his partner moved here 12 years ago, there was a legacy of mature trees that lent some structure and a sense of layout to the three-and-a-half-acre garden in Surrey.
Matt is an experienced garden designer and has designed numerous show gardens for prestigious RHS shows. His first gold medal was awarded for his debut garden at Hampton Court in 2012. The theme of the garden was hope and recovery, inspired by his own recovery from the injuries he received during the London bombings on 7 July 2005. After this life-changing event he decided to change career and study garden design. He’s since been awarded many more gold medals and awards for his designs.
These experiences, along with Matt’s enthusiasm for plants and gardens, gave him clear ideas about how to make the most of this garden, to enhance the attributes already present and make an inviting, outdoor space to suit his and his partner’s lifestyles. His starting point for every project is the phrase used by American landscape architect Thomas Church: ‘Gardens are for people’.
“My first thoughts about the design of the garden were, ‘how are we going to use it and what will make us want to spend time in it?’” says Matt. His design defines the different areas of the garden that flow seamlessly into each other. A productive garden and greenhouses were essential for their love of homegrown vegetables. Water has been incorporated into the garden in the form of a wild pond and a natural swimming pond, both of which attract a plethora of wildlife. Half of the space remains as a meadow, allowing for greater biodiversity and a different atmosphere in that part of the garden.
Spending so much time at home during lockdown, the couple decided that a natural swimming pond would be a great addition to the space. There are a whole range of different ways of creating a swimming pond, but Matt went down the route of contracting a
