Wiltshire Rectory

The Project

Almost a decade after completing extensive work at our clients' previous home, M T S Gardens was invited to work with them again following their move to a Wiltshire rectory undergoing a significant renovation and extension.

With an initial concept developed by Charlie Hawkes and subsequently evolved by the client, the project called for a complete reworking of the gardens, driveway and wider landscape to create a beautiful and practical family garden around the newly renovated house.

Delivered progressively alongside the building works, the landscape brings together reclaimed York stone, sculptural Taxus, semi-mature trees, gravel gardens, generous herbaceous planting and a tiered kitchen garden. Each phase has established another layer of the garden, creating a landscape with strong structure from the outset but one deliberately intended to mature and evolve over many years.

Project information

Location: Wiltshire

Project Type: Rectory Garden & Landscape

Services: Landscape Construction | Soft Landscaping | Mature Tree Planting | Horticulture

Key Elements: Reclaimed York Stone | Sculptural Taxus | Semi-Mature Trees | Gravel Garden | Tiered Kitchen Garden | Roof Trained Platanus

Designer: Initial Concept - Charlie Hawkes | Design Development - Client-Led

Completion Date: Ongoing

Photography: M T S Gardens

The Story

Our relationship with the clients at Wiltshire Rectory began almost ten years earlier, when we undertook extensive work at their previous property. Following their move to a newly purchased rectory, they approached M T S Gardens once again to help create the landscape around their new family home.

The property itself was undergoing substantial renovation, including the construction of a new glass-fronted kitchen designed to open directly onto and become surrounded by the garden. The project therefore presented an opportunity to reconsider not only the immediate gardens, but the arrival, productive spaces and wider landscape as a whole.

An initial concept had been developed by Charlie Hawkes, with the client subsequently taking an active role in developing the garden. Our task was to help translate those ideas into the landscape and deliver the project progressively alongside the renovation of the house.

Establishing the Arrival

The first phase concentrated on the front garden.

Taxus hedging was introduced to flank the entrance, planted with the long-term intention of developing it into sculptural cloud forms as the plants mature. Rather than creating an instantly finished effect, this established a framework that could be carefully shaped and developed over time.

A new lawn provided openness in front of the rectory, crossed by a reclaimed York stone stepping-stone path connecting the driveway with the house. Taxus beehives positioned within the lawn provide strong evergreen punctuation, accompanied by low Fagus domes that bring another layer of structure to the composition.

Together, these elements created a more deliberate arrival while beginning to establish the horticultural character that would continue throughout the property.

Building the Landscape

Attention then moved towards the rear garden.

Semi-mature trees, hedging and shrubs were introduced throughout the landscape, providing immediate structure while beginning the longer process of establishing maturity around the newly renovated house.

A new rear terrace created an important connection between the house and garden, while an adjoining gravel garden introduced a softer and more informal character. A pathway was also created through the existing orchard, allowing an established part of the property to become more connected with the developing garden.

The planting was considered not simply for immediate impact, but for how it would develop — using trees, evergreen structure and seasonal planting to gradually knit the different areas of the property together.

Redefining the Approach

Once the principal building works were complete, attention returned to the driveway and arrival sequence.

The driveway was renovated and edged with reclaimed York stone cobbles, introducing a material that felt appropriate to the age and character of the rectory.

Alongside it, a cloud-clipped Taxus hedge creates a strong sculptural element, while a large standard Carpinus, trained into a beehive form, was positioned deliberately on the principal line of sight when entering the property. It acts as both a focal point and a marker within the wider landscape.

Generous herbaceous beds were created against the main house and adjoining cottage, softening the architecture and bringing seasonal colour, texture and movement closer to the buildings.

The Kitchen Garden

A later phase turned to the creation of a substantial productive garden.

The sloping ground was organised into a series of tiers, creating a large kitchen garden connected by gravel pathways. The layout combines the practical requirements of growing with the character of the wider garden, allowing the productive landscape to become a destination rather than simply a functional space.

A dedicated seating area provides somewhere to spend time within the kitchen garden, sheltered by roof-trained Platanus trees that will increasingly create an overhead canopy as they mature.

A reclaimed copper water bowl provides a simple focal point, introducing reflection and movement amongst the more structured productive spaces.

A Garden Developed Over Time

Wiltshire Rectory has never been approached as a garden that needed to be created in a single moment.

Its development has followed the renovation of the property itself, allowing each phase to respond to the changing house and to the landscape established before it. That approach has also allowed plants such as the Taxus, Carpinus and roof-trained Platanus to begin the slower process of developing into the forms envisaged for them.

Our involvement continues through occasional maintenance and specialist pruning, while further work to the rear garden and wider landscape remains part of the longer-term vision for the property.

Nearly a decade after first working with these clients at their previous home, Wiltshire Rectory represents the continuation of that relationship — a new landscape being carefully established around a new chapter of family life, with much of its story still to be written.

Creating a garden of your own?

Whether working directly with private clients or alongside garden designers and landscape architects, we deliver landscapes from construction through planting, establishment and long-term care.