A Designer's Private Playground

It's always a joy to photograph a well-designed garden. There are incidents around every corner, paths to lead the eyes and feet, and carefully considered planting to sustain interest throughout the year. And this private garden in the hills outside Santander on the north coast of Spain is no exception to that rule. It has been crafted over many years by its owner, an eminent Spanish garden designer, building on the bones of a historic collection of trees and shrubs. At once both the setting for a family home and a showcase of the owner's landscaping skill, the garden has evolved to incorporate the latest horticultural trends – a wildflower meadow, a gravel garden – while preserving the best of the past. Immaculate lawns, a rose garden, extensive shrubberies, all have their place here – as well as the most playful response to a dead redwood I've come across on my travels.