In place of a huge lawn, we designed and planted an arboretum of specimen trees, underplanted with huge swathes of wildflower meadow with mown paths to connect the house and a small back lawn to a new pond, seating areas and shady glades in the arboretum. Replacing a traditional lawn with a wildflower meadow is so popular these days that it has a name: ‘meadowscaping’ which offers significant ecological, environmental and maintenance benefits. Traditional lawns are manicured monocultures, whereas a meadow creates a biodiverse ecosystem that supports wildlife and requires no water or fertiliser, and much less upkeep.