Family garden, Dartmoor

A wooded family garden, designed for the future

This private family garden in Devon sits on a steep wooded slope above the River Teign near Chagford, within Dartmoor National Park, an AONB.

The new house will be built into the hillside, designed to feel rooted in the terrain. Harris Bugg Studio has been brought on to ensure the garden feels connected and seamless, and that its maintenance is matched with the time available to tend to it.

The site is complex. It is a steep, sloped garden, north-facing, and shaped by flowing water. The garden design brief was to create different spaces that could manage these conditions, while feeling natural to Dartmoor and supporting family life – from entertaining to football. Locally styled drystone walls will play an important role in achieving the shape and feel.

Beyond the house, meadows will link the house with the wider valley. To the east, the garden will manage rainwater as a seasonal wetland, bringing wildlife back into the garden. Planting design will be naturalistic and pollinator-rich, blending native plants and climate resilient species suited to Dartmoor’s soils and shifting climate.

Collaboration

Team: Surmon Weston