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Rachel Platt Garden Design transformed an underused South Buckinghamshire garden into a space for swimming, growing food and supporting wildlife. Its unheated natural pool, retained ponds and planting designed for habitat sit alongside family gathering areas and an edible hedge. The source report does not give the project’s completion date or identify the property’s exact location.
Rachel Platt Garden Design has reshaped an underused garden in South Buckinghamshire around an unheated natural swimming pool, productive growing areas and planting intended to support wildlife. The project responds to the owners’ wish to swim at home, spend more time outdoors and connect the garden with the surrounding fields and hedgerows, according to a report by Homes and Gardens.
The owners, who both work in the veterinary sector, wanted a garden that could accommodate swimming, food growing and entertaining while offering habitat for wildlife. Before the redesign, they regularly drove elsewhere to swim in rivers and spent relatively little time in their own garden. The new layout changes from more formal geometry near the house to softer curves, a chalk meadow and an edible hedge toward the fields.
The garden’s focal point is an unheated natural pool, designed with Ellicar Natural Pools. It has a clear swimming area and a separate planted regeneration zone, where aquatic plants provide what the report describes as hydrobotanical filtration. Planting around the water includes native and other moisture-loving species selected for seasonal interest and pollinators. The owners told Homes and Gardens that the pond is “a total escape all through the seasons.”
The pool’s shape changed during design. An early proposal called for a formal, linear pond aligned with a mature birch tree. Existing drainage and a suspected utility service crossing the garden prompted a redesign as a circular pool. Existing features were also retained or moved, including two ponds, the terrace, a fig tree, lily of the valley, raspberries and rhubarb. Other elements include a raised kitchen garden, grapevine pergola, firepit, outdoor shower and dining space.
A Garden Built for Daily Use
The redesign brings activities the owners previously pursued elsewhere into their own garden, while joining recreation with habitat creation. The pool gives them a place to swim at home, and its planted regeneration zone and surrounding vegetation are intended to contribute to the garden’s wider ecosystem. The owners reported seeing dragonflies and bats around the pool, as well as frogs, toads and newts in the ponds. Those observations come from the clients; the report provides no independent ecological survey or quantified measure of wildlife change.
Its layout also makes the garden useful beyond the swimming season. A kitchen garden and edible hedge provide space for growing food, while the firepit and dining area support family gatherings. The meadow is left uncut over winter, the owners said, to offer seeds and shelter for insects, birds and small mammals. The project shows how one residential design can combine everyday recreation, food growing and wildlife-friendly planting, without suggesting that the features guarantee particular ecological outcomes.
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From Formal Pond to Natural Pool
The owners’ original brief combined practical and environmental aims: a place to swim, grow food and entertain, with a landscape linked to the fields and hedgerows around the property. The design uses a gradual change in character to make that connection, moving from stronger lines near the house to a meadow and edible hedge at the garden’s outer edge.
Keeping existing features was part of the approach. The report says the terrace and two ponds were preserved for their environmental value and the wildlife they support, while selected plants and food crops were saved or relocated. The hedge combines species including hazel, hawthorn, blackberry, chokeberry, damson, pear and serviceberry, providing a mix of structure, blossom and fruit. Autumn interest was another client request; the planting includes ornamental grasses, perennials and shrubs selected for seasonal color and texture.
““The garden has become a haven, a place to find balance and feel miles away from everything… And our natural pond is a total escape all through the seasons.””
— The garden’s owners, quoted by Homes and Gardens
Project Details Still Unreported
The Homes and Gardens report does not state when the project was completed, provide a budget or give the property’s exact location. It also does not quantify how much time the owners now spend in the garden or how the redesign has affected wildlife populations. Accounts of animal sightings and breeding come from the owners, and no independent ecological assessment is included.
The report says the original pond design was changed because of existing drainage and a suspected utility service, but it does not specify what utility was involved or whether its location was confirmed. It also does not provide technical details such as pool dimensions, maintenance requirements or water-quality testing.
How the Garden Changes Seasonally
The source report describes an established garden rather than announcing a forthcoming project milestone. Its next developments are seasonal: the meadow is left uncut over winter, aquatic and shoreline plants flower across the warmer months, and the owners use the kitchen garden for seasonal produce. The report does not give a schedule for further work or a date for a follow-up ecological review.
For readers considering a similar design, the reported changes offer practical points to investigate with qualified landscape and pool professionals: site drainage and services can affect pool placement, while natural pools require distinct swimming and planted regeneration areas. The source does not supply construction or maintenance guidance, so it cannot establish the costs or suitability of the approach for other gardens.
Key Questions
Who designed the South Buckinghamshire garden?
Rachel Platt Garden Design led the landscape design. The natural swimming pool was designed in collaboration with Ellicar Natural Pools, according to Homes and Gardens.
How does the natural swimming pool work?
The pool has a clear swim zone and a separate planted regeneration zone. The report says aquatic plants in the regeneration area provide hydrobotanical filtration; it does not give detailed operating or maintenance information.
Why did the pool design change?
The initial concept was a formal linear pond. Existing drainage and a suspected utility service crossing the garden led the team to rework it as a circular pool, the report says.
What wildlife has been reported at the garden?
The owners told Homes and Gardens they have seen frogs, toads, newts and several dragonfly species, as well as a water snake. The report does not include an independent ecological survey confirming those observations.
What other features are in the garden?
The garden includes a raised kitchen garden, edible hedge, grapevine pergola, firepit, outdoor shower and dining area. Existing ponds, a terrace and several plants and food crops were retained or relocated.
Source: rss
