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Annie and Mark designed their garden as part of a renovation that added a kitchen-diner and improved the connection between their home and its 150-square-metre outdoor space. The garden includes a rainwater-fed rill and an open-roofed folly; architect Ian Hazard said the extension and garden were planned together, although the garden was completed after the building work.
Annie and Mark planned a rainwater-fed rill and an open-roofed garden folly as part of a renovation that added a kitchen-diner to their home in a village outside York. The project linked the extension with their 150-square-metre garden, treating the house and outdoor space as parts of one design; Annie later described the garden as a tribute to Mark, who died after the work was completed.
The couple bought the house in 2018, seeking a location closer to their children’s friends. The garden was much smaller than the nine-acre grounds at their previous home, and its existing layout had little beyond grass, a worn sunken trampoline, a stone path and a small raised deck. Annie said the surrounding red brick walls offered a useful starting point for a redesign.
After renovations inside the house and the worst of the Covid pandemic had passed, Mark wanted to remodel the rear of the home and make a stronger connection to the garden. The couple engaged architect Ian Hazard in early 2021. Their brief called for indoor and outdoor areas that could flow together, with room to relax and entertain as well as space for children, vegetable growing and wildlife-supporting planting.
The garden was completed after the building work for practical reasons, Annie said, but the design was considered alongside the extension. Hazard said the folly was conceived as a link between the new outdoor room and the rear extension. He also selected zinc and timber to connect the two: zinc echoed the house materials, while western red cedar slats added warmth and texture to the folly.
A Garden Planned With the Extension
Planning the garden alongside the extension let the couple weigh the size of the new living space against the limited outdoor area. Annie said Hazard helped keep the extension from taking too much of the garden’s footprint. That coordination mattered in a plot of only 150 square metres, where the proportions of the house and usable outdoor rooms had to be considered together.
The project also shows how a rainwater-fed feature can be part of a wider landscape design rather than a separate decorative addition. The rill gives the garden a water feature the couple wanted, while its rainwater supply ties it to the home and site. The source report does not provide engineering details or measured environmental benefits, so the system’s performance cannot be assessed from the available account.
For Annie, the finished garden has a personal meaning beyond its layout and planting: she described it as a lasting tribute to the joint project she and Mark created. Its practical spaces, materials and water features preserve elements of the couple’s shared brief.
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From Trampoline to Garden Rooms
Before the redesign, the garden’s main structures were a large rectangular sunken trampoline that needed replacing, a stone-laid path and a circular raised deck surrounded by bamboo. The couple had already planted wisteria and climbing roses along the rear wall, along with verbena bonariensis near an existing apple tree. Annie said she also liked combining wild and formal planting, including foxgloves and poppies.
The couple’s ambitions were shaped by different interests. Mark wanted a rill and water features; Annie wanted a place to sit beneath the night sky and occasionally have a fire. She said visits to Beningbrough and RHS Harlow Carr gave them ideas for planting and structure. Their architect’s task was to address the relationship between the rooms inside the existing house, the new extension and a garden Annie said needed to feel calming, productive and supportive of local wildlife.
Mark, an engineer, also contributed to the garden’s construction. Hazard said he designed and built much of the hard landscaping, including the water features and the folly. The account presents the project as a collaboration between the couple and their architect, with design discussions continuing as plans for the house and garden developed.
“It needed to feel like a calming and nurturing space which was productive and supportive of local wildlife.”
— Annie
Rainwater System Details Not Reported
The account identifies the rill as rainwater-fed but does not explain how rainwater is collected, stored or delivered to it. It gives no information about the system’s capacity, maintenance, cost, water use or performance during dry weather. It also does not quantify the garden’s effect on wildlife or water consumption.
The available report does not give a completion date, a full construction budget or a detailed planting list. It describes the finished garden and the couple’s intentions, but does not provide independent measurements of environmental outcomes. Those details remain unknown from the source material.
The Finished Garden’s Lasting Role
The reported project is presented as a completed garden and extension, rather than as a scheme awaiting approval or further construction. The account gives no upcoming milestones or announced changes. Its next chapter, as described by Annie, is the garden’s continued use as a place to sit, grow plants and spend time outdoors—and as a tribute to Mark and the project they planned together.
Any fuller assessment of the rainwater system would require information not included in the report, such as its collection and storage arrangements and how reliably it supplies the rill. No further technical update or monitoring results are stated.
Key Questions
Where is the garden?
It is at Annie and Mark’s home in a village outside York. The report does not name the village.
What makes the garden rainwater-fed?
The report says its rill is fed by rainwater, but does not explain the collection, storage or delivery system.
Was the garden designed separately from the home extension?
No. Annie said the garden was finished after the building work for practical reasons, but the designs were envisioned as a whole. Architect Ian Hazard said the folly was intended to link the garden with the new rear extension.
How large is the garden?
The outdoor space measures 150 square metres, according to the report.
Who built the garden features?
Hazard said Mark, an engineer, designed and built much of the hard landscaping, including the water features and garden folly. The report describes this as collaborative work involving the couple and their architect.
Source: amateurgardening.com
