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Designer Rachel Platt reshaped an underused garden in South Buckinghamshire into a landscape for swimming, growing food and supporting wildlife. The project includes an unheated natural pool, retained ponds and planting that links the garden to nearby fields and hedgerows.
Designer Rachel Platt has redesigned an underused garden in South Buckinghamshire around an unheated natural swimming pool, edible planting and habitat for wildlife. The project, reported by Homes & Gardens, gives the owners a place to swim and spend time outdoors while connecting the garden to the surrounding fields and hedgerows.
The owners, who work in the veterinary sector, wanted the garden to support wildlife while providing room to swim, grow food and entertain. According to the report, they previously drove elsewhere to swim in rivers and spent relatively little time in their own garden. Platt’s design moves from more formal geometry near the house to softer curves, a sweeping chalk meadow and an experimental edible hedge toward the fields.
At the center is an unheated natural pool designed with Ellicar Natural Pools. It has a clear swimming area and a planted regeneration zone, where aquatic plants provide hydrobotanical filtration. Planting around the water includes species chosen for seasonal colour and to attract pollinators; the report says the pool has already drawn dragonflies and bats.
The redesign also retained existing features and plants, including two ponds, a terrace, a fig tree, lily of the valley, raspberries and rhubarb. Other elements include a raised kitchen garden, grapevine pergola, firepit, outdoor shower and dining area. An edible hedge combines fruiting and native species, while the meadow is left uncut over winter to provide food and shelter for wildlife, according to the report.
A Garden Designed for Daily Use
The project brings several uses together in a single garden: swimming, food growing, family gatherings and wildlife habitat. For the owners, the pool was intended not only as a place to swim but as a way to spend more time in their own outdoor space. The design also shows how existing features can be retained while changing how a garden is used.
Its wildlife benefits are described by the owners and the project report, rather than by an independent ecological assessment. The owners say frogs, toads and newts reproduce in the ponds and that they have seen a water snake. They also report birds bathing at a shallow beach area. These observations suggest the garden is being used by wildlife, but the source does not provide a measured biodiversity survey.
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From Formal Pool to Natural Pond
The pool’s design changed during planning. Platt’s original concept called for a formal linear pond positioned to reflect a mature birch tree viewed from the house. Existing drainage and a suspected utility service crossing the garden led the team to revise the design as a circular pool, the report says.
The wider layout was shaped by the owners’ wish to feel connected to the local landscape. The edible hedge supplies blossom, fruit and structure while creating a gradual link between the more cultivated garden and the meadow. Planting was also selected to give the garden colour and texture in autumn, including ornamental grasses, perennials and shrubs such as Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’.
“The garden has become a haven, a place to find balance and feel miles away from everything… And our natural pond is a total escape all through the seasons.”
— The garden’s owners, quoted in Homes & Gardens
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What the Report Does Not Establish
The report does not state when the garden was completed, provide its dimensions or disclose the project’s cost. It also does not give a formal assessment of water quality, pool maintenance needs or biodiversity change over time. The owners’ wildlife observations are presented as their experience, not as independently verified findings.
The source describes the pool as unheated and says the owners envisioned swimming through winter, but it does not confirm how often they swim or provide details about winter operating conditions. It is also unclear whether the garden’s design or planting will be monitored for ecological outcomes.
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How the Garden Changes Over Time
The report offers no announced next phase or follow-up date. The garden’s ongoing development will depend on seasonal growth: the meadow is left standing through winter, while the poolside and hedge plantings provide flowers, fruit and habitat at different times of year. Any claims about longer-term wildlife effects or changes to how often the owners use the garden would require further reporting.
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Key Questions
Who designed the South Buckinghamshire garden?
Rachel Platt Garden Design led the redesign. The natural swimming pool was designed in collaboration with Ellicar Natural Pools, according to the Homes & Gardens report.
How does the natural swimming pool work?
The pool has a clear swim zone and a planted regeneration zone. The aquatic planting in the latter is intended to provide hydrobotanical filtration; the report does not give technical details about water testing or maintenance.
What wildlife has been reported at the garden?
The owners say they have seen frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies, bats, birds and a water snake. These are owner-reported observations, not results from a published ecological survey.
What existing features were kept?
The redesign retained the existing terrace and two ponds, along with plants including a fig tree, lily of the valley, raspberries and rhubarb, the report says.
Source: rss
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