From Forgotten Corners to Focal Points: Designing Walled Gardens on Country Estates in Hertfordshire

Walled gardens are often the quietest spaces on a country estate. They can be tucked away behind timeworn gates or hidden behind brambles, sometimes forgotten entirely. But for those lucky enough to have one, they offer an incredible opportunity, one that’s worth bringing back to life. They have the potential to become something special. Whether it’s about respecting the garden’s original layout or using the old walls to frame something entirely new, these spaces deserve considered design.

Why Walled Gardens Still Matter

Walled gardens were traditionally working areas, protected plots for growing fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Their walls stored heat, shielded delicate crops, and created microclimates to increase the growing season, long before anyone used the term. But their value now goes beyond productivity.

They offer structure, privacy, and atmosphere, three things you rarely get together in the open landscape of a large estate. They create a sense of arrival, a change of pace, a place where everything feels a bit more intentional.

On country estates in Hertfordshire, I often find walled gardens just waiting for a second chapter. Sometimes they’re still in use but feel disconnected from the rest of the garden. Other times, they’re completely overgrown. Either way, they can become:

• A productive kitchen garden with well-planned beds and paths

• A contemporary courtyard space using texture and sculpture

• A place to experiment with planting in a more sheltered setting

• A calm retreat where one can forget the world outside

Designing Within Walls Comes With Its Own Rules

A walled garden has its own conditions, both physical and visual. The brickwork, the height of the walls, their orientation, and even the materials used all affect the space.

When I approach a walled garden design, some of the key considerations include:

• Light and heat. South and west-facing walls might support plants that are less hardy like figs or peaches. North-facing walls need entirely different thinking.

• Existing features. Old doorways, gate piers, or paths are linked to the spirit of the place, and can often guide the design, even if they’re no longer in use.

• Layout. These spaces benefit from a clear structure, axes, sightlines, central features, or strong paths that organise the space.

• Materials. The tone and age of the brick, paving or coping often inform the hard landscaping palette, it’s important that old and new feel in dialogue.

• Privacy and containment. Because they are enclosed, you can create very different moods inside, from stillness and quiet to bold, expressive planting.

This isn’t a garden where you can just start planting. You need to understand the character of the space and what it needs to work properly.

Respecting the Past or Creating Something New

Not every walled garden needs to be a replica of its original use. Some clients want to keep or revive the traditional kitchen garden, while others are more interested in creating a series of outdoor rooms, an event space, or a sculptural garden that uses the walls as a backdrop.

In a Hertfordshire estate, we could transform a barely used walled garden into a gravel courtyard with clipped evergreens, Corten steel detailing, and a central seating area. The walls would give the space weight and shelter, but the feel would be entirely contemporary. We could use gravel paths surrounded by soft naturalistic planting

and a central rill, making it structured and peaceful.

The point is, there’s no single formula. It depends on the client, the land, the history, and how the space is meant to feel.

A Garden Within a Garden With a Life of Its Own

There’s something deeply satisfying about getting a walled garden right. It’s usually the most defined space on a country estate, but often the most neglected. When it's working, it becomes a place people naturally gravitate to, for a few quiet minutes or hours at a time.

It can stand alone or become part of a wider sequence across the grounds. But either way, it adds something special, a moment of pause and purpose.

Looking to Restore or Redesign a Walled Garden in Hertfordshire

If you have a walled garden on your estate, whether it’s intact, part-ruined, or in full use but lacking focus, I’d be happy to help you make the most of it. With the right design, these spaces can offer far more than most people realise.

You can reach me at dan@danhartleygardens.co.uk to arrange a consultation or talk through your ideas.