The making of beautiful country gardens

A garden that cannot be seen in one glance entices people to step outside with a sense of wonder. Landscape designer Paul Bangay has an extraordinary ability to envisage scale and create gardens that feel as though they’ve been there forever. These gardens are places to explore.

They emerge from the countryside, with borrowed landscapes and dramatic views as key elements. Within each design, Paul creates spaces that bring a different experience of the garden. Vast lawns are bordered by wild grass terraces or dramatic herbaceous borders that flower all year round. An allée of trees directs the eye to mountains in the distance. Outdoor dining areas create intimate vantage points within the broader scale. Jasmine-covered walls diffuse exquisite scent on summer nights.

From grand gardens in France to a forest grown from saplings, join Paul on this tour de force of projects complete with lakes, mountains and walled gardens. For each project, Paul shares the design process, as well as garden plans and extensive planting lists.

Simon Griffiths’ photography of these gardens from around the world captures the sublime form, light and generous landscapes.

Big Garden Design documents a designer who relishes the challenge of working at scale and the principles of landscape design from the most precise detail to the grandest vista.