Article by Annie Green-Armytage

“If you want the next generation to love gardening as much as you do, you need to engage them from an early age. This is a principle that Cambridgeshire garden designer Dawn Isaac has taken to heart, especially in her own plot, where practicality meets a shed-load of creative inspiration.

The obligatory green space for ball games is just the beginning: hiding behind hedges and borders are secret walkways, mud pie kitchen, play-house complete with verandah and window-box, scented hopscotch run, bug motel and mini-wildlife ponds, as well as the more conventional trappings of childhood – swings, sandpit and trampoline.

‘Sneaking in things around the edges is actually better for the children,’ says Dawn. ‘It’s a lot easier to lose yourself in your imaginary world if you’re in a nice little hidden space, and it means I can fit a lot in without it being on view all of the time.’’