Colourful foliage and structure in a Japanese style

As part of my soft launch for Helen Codd Gardens (the first evolution of what is now Helen Codd Studio), I opened our garden for the 2025 Hurst Open Gardens and ran a competition for a free garden design. The winning brief was a lovely challenge: to create a foliage‑rich, colour‑forward planting scheme with strong year‑round structure, plenty of deep burgundy tones, and a way to transform the underused space to the north of the pool. The design also needed to be low‑maintenance and fully dog‑safe.

The final scheme evolved into a Japanese‑inspired garden, using a palette of Japanese plants and a gentle, understated styling for the pergola and furniture. The design creates places to pause and reflect as well as a generous, sociable space for entertaining. Planting includes Hakonechloa, Acers, Japanese anemones, sculptural rocks, potted bamboos, Cordylines, Fatsia and Persicaria; a mix chosen for year‑round structure, rich foliage colour and a calm, textural atmosphere. The result is a low‑maintenance, dog‑safe garden with a strong sense of character and a more intentional use of the previously underused space north of the pool.