My Garden

I inherited this Garden when we moved to this house in 2013 with our two sports mad (aka garden destroying) young boys.  It was new challenge. Previously I had use of an allotment and a smaller town garden.  I love all things gardens and gardening. Despite not being trained in horticulture, I love how my somehow acquired knowledge of Latin plant names  ‘geek out’  my close friends. Through trial and error a garden grows, it evolves, some things work, some things don’t,  you can show your personality through it, you can grow things to eat , to decorate the house with or simply to pause and enjoy the sounds, scent and beauty and changes through the seasons. It is never finished…

The Eclectic Modern English Garden

The Garden is in the centre of a village in Surrey, England. It sits on a mature half acre plot and is enclosed by hedging, and mature trees. The Garden is on a downwards slope and benefits from 100 year old retaining walls, paths and mature box hedging that separates the flower garden with the veg and a greenhouse.  The previous owners did all they could, but as they grew older the space became difficult to manage.  The end of the garden under the large Horse Chestnut trees was neglected and left to grow wild and large parts of the beds were covered in ground elder and ivy.

I am a fairly eclectic gardener. I love an English country garden. The house itself is Edwardian so it would suit a Gertrude Jekyll approach… but I also am inspired by contemporary and modern forms,  by Piet Oudolf and grasses, by old bricks and things and also I love a kitchen garden. Due to it’s layout, I have been able to create garden rooms which means my contemporary, English country garden, kitchen garden,  wild grass borders and old bricks kind of avoid clashing. Oh did I mention ‘The Boys’… It also needs space for the sport mad boys to do their thing…cricket, a special request of ‘football tolerant’ planting…and I can forget perfect grass.

I set to work. We cleared the end of the garden and created a ‘secret’ fruit garden, inspired by a small Box Parterre that already existed elsewhere in the garden.  Entrance to this ‘secret’ space is through two old pear trees that form an informal archway. Fruit in the garden   includes an old Mulberry tree in centre stage in the lawn together with  a Bramley apple tree.  Two eating apples, two pears, a large (and getting larger) fig and recently planted peach, apricot, plum, cherry and soft fruit bushes (gooseberry, red/black currants, blueberries, strawberry beds and of course autumn fruiting raspberries)

The ‘Secret’ Fruit Garden Under the Trees

The Parterre, Rose Beds, Flower  cutting and Veg Patch. 

I am still renovating the parterre, which was dishevelled and full of ground elder and other weedy goodies.  The centre contains an old apple tree and surrounding it are flower beds and 100 year old brick paths.

The large veg patch this year has been replaced with both veg and a flower cutting patch and I newly planted a rose garden in the part of it where veg struggled to grow (i.e.  it was under a tree).

Landscaping and Layout

The wide mixed borders have been renovated  for year round appeal. The area next to the house has been  landscaped using limestone, small walls and tiered beds.  This  works with the slope and rather odd layout near to the house caused by the location of very old outbuildings. Different small seating areas have been created. Parts of it are in shade, so needing shade tolerant soft white lush green planting, other areas have planted screening to create areas to sit.  Not that I sit down much.

I am also renovating, removing and replanting  the boundary hedges that badly suffered from privet wilt/Honey Fungus and repairing the 100 year old brick paths and small walls.