The Victorian Aviary Garden

By garden designers Jonathan Denby and Philippa Pearson. An ornate aviary, typical of the grand designs from the late Victorian period, creates an enchanting focal point and an informal outdoor room.

This design has been inspired by the elaborate Rococo aviary at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire.

The garden has a strong Cumbrian provenance, with Cumbrian slate chosen for paving, and slate and limestone used for the terrace's traditional stone walls. Artist Maggy Howarth has designed a bird-themed mosaic pebble path.

The planting scheme includes some woodland edge-style planting and uses a cool palette of green, white and soft apricot with splashes of maroon.

The formal box-edged borders set in lawn, inspired by the Victorian period, feature a tapestry of colourful perennials and grasses that create a jewel-like effect.

Plants list

Click on any of the plant names below to read more and to add to your own plants list.

BOUNDARIES
Taxus baccata hedge

STEPS
Erigeron karvinskianus

AVIARY - EXTERNAL

Trees
Acer ginnala
Mespilus germanica
Sorbus intermedia

Ferns
Asplenium scolopendrium
Dryopteris crassirhizoma
Leptinella squalida 'Platt's Black'
Polystichum setiferum 'Herrenhausen'

Perennials
Anemone sylvestris
Bergenia 'Abendglut'
Digitalis purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot'
Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora
Geranium phaeum 'Album'
Geranium phaeum 'Sambor'
Helleborus x hybridus (foliage)
Hosta sieboldiana var. Elegans
Hosta 'Brim Cup'
Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst' (foliage)

AVIARY - INTERNAL
Cornus alba 'Sibirica'
Hydrangea petiolaris
Pyracantha

LIMESTONE TERRACE WALL
Asplenium scolopendrium
Asplenium trichomanes
Hedera helix 'Glacier'

ORNAMENTAL SQUARE BORDERS
Alchemilla mollis
Allium 'Purple Sensation'
Aquilegia 'Nora Barlow'
Asphodeline lutea
Astrantia major 'Claret'
Buxus sempervirens (hedge)
Calamogrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw'
Iris 'Jane Phillips'
Iris 'Superstition'
Lychnis coronaria 'Alba'
Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt'
Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
Stipa tenuissima
Taxus baccata topiary pyramids
Tulipa 'Ballerina'
Tulipa 'Black Parrot'
Tulipa 'Casablanca'
Tulipa 'Ille de France'
Tulipa 'Lac van Rijn'

CONTAINERS AND URNS
Tulipa (selected from above)
Tulipa acuminata
Pelargonium ardens
Pelargonium echinatum 'White Form'
Pelargonium odoratissimum

See RHS coverage of this garden here.