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Rachel Platt Garden Design reworked an underused South Buckinghamshire garden into a year-round outdoor space centered on an unheated natural swimming pool. The project also retains existing features, grows food and adds habitats intended to support wildlife; the clients report seeing frogs, newts, dragonflies and other animals.
Designer Rachel Platt has reshaped an underused garden in South Buckinghamshire into an outdoor space for swimming, growing food and supporting wildlife, according to a Homes and Gardens report. The design centers on an unheated natural swimming pool and connects the house to a meadow and the surrounding countryside.
The clients, who work in the veterinary sector, wanted a garden that could serve both as a place to spend time outdoors and as habitat for wildlife. Before the redesign, they regularly drove elsewhere to swim in rivers and made relatively little use of their own garden. Platt’s design was developed with Ellicar Natural Pools, with a separate swimming area and planted regeneration zone.
The pool’s regeneration zone uses aquatic plants for hydrobotanical filtration, while the swim zone is kept clear of plants and wildlife. Planting around the water includes water mint, water forget-me-nots, irises and marsh marigolds. The report says the pool has attracted dragonflies and bats; the clients also describe frogs, toads, newts, several dragonfly species and a water snake in the garden.
The broader layout shifts from more formal geometry near the house to curves, a chalk meadow and an edible hedgerow toward the fields. Other features include a raised kitchen garden, grapevine pergola, firepit, outdoor shower and dining area. The report says existing terraces, two ponds and much of the planting were retained or relocated, including a fig tree, lily of the valley, raspberries and rhubarb.
A Garden Built for Daily Use
The project shows how one residential garden can combine recreation, food production and wildlife habitat rather than treating them as separate uses. The swimming pond gives the owners a reason to spend more time outdoors, while its planted margins and the meadow and hedgerow provide varied environments for plants and animals.
Retaining existing ponds, a terrace and established plants also shaped the redesign. The clients say the garden is now a place to find balance and enjoy nature through the seasons. Those are their impressions, rather than independently measured outcomes, but the reported design details explain how the space was adapted to their day-to-day priorities.
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Why the Pool Changed Shape
The original concept called for a formal, linear pond positioned to reflect a mature birch tree seen from the house. Platt revised that plan after encountering existing drainage and a suspected utility service crossing the garden; the finished pool is circular. The source does not give technical details about the service or drainage constraints.
The design also responds to the clients’ wish for links to nearby fields and hedgerows. Its edible hedge combines species including hazel, hawthorn, blackberry, chokeberry, damson, pear and serviceberry. The meadow is left uncut over winter, the report says, to leave seeds and shelter for insects, birds and small mammals.
“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 clients, as quoted by Homes and Gardens
What the Report Does Not Establish
The source does not specify when the project was completed, its cost, the pool’s dimensions or the time required to build it. It also provides no independent ecological assessment, water-quality measurements or evidence quantifying changes in wildlife populations. Reports of particular animals and the garden’s benefits are attributed to the clients.
The pool is described as unheated and usable through the seasons, but the report does not provide water temperatures, operating or maintenance requirements, or details about safety measures. A natural swimming pond can include aquatic habitat while also being a place people swim; the source does not explain how access is managed.
How the Garden Will Mature
The source describes an established project, not a newly announced construction schedule, and gives no date for a next phase. The garden’s planting will continue to change seasonally: the report says shoreline plants flower from March through September, while the meadow is left standing over winter and the selected grasses and shrubs provide autumn color and structure.
The clients’ account suggests that they intend to keep using the garden for swimming, food growing and family gatherings. No formal monitoring plan or future update is stated, so any longer-term effects on wildlife, maintenance demands and use of the pool remain to be seen.
Key Questions
Where is Rachel Platt’s garden project?
The garden is in South Buckinghamshire, England. The Homes and Gardens report does not identify a more precise location.
What makes the swimming pool natural?
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 water-quality data or technical operating details.
What wildlife has been reported at the garden?
The report says the pool has attracted dragonflies and bats. The clients also report frogs, toads, newts, several dragonfly species, a water snake and birds visiting the pond. These observations are attributed to the clients.
Why did the pool design change?
The original design showed a linear pond, but existing drainage and a suspected utility service crossing the garden led to a change. The finished pool is circular.
Is the natural pool heated?
No. The source describes it as an unheated natural swimming pool. It does not specify water temperatures or provide swimming-safety guidance.
Source: rss
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