Welcome to my garden
It’s a great example of how I think and work. When I began this garden, it was little more than a lawn edged with hornbeam whips, the boundary open to the farmyard that it adjoins.
Today, it’s my sanctuary, a place where you can be outside relaxing at any point in the day.
Being a relatively small garden, every element within it has had to prove its worth several times over. I selected plants that I knew from experience were not only beautiful but hardworking too, flowering and adding interest for long periods in the garden. These together with the trees, pond and seating areas draw you in, the garden slowly revealing itself as you move through it.
Practically, this is a garden where we can relax as a family. It has three seating areas, so we can sit outside in sun or shade, which is wonderful. It’s also enclosed, first by the hornbeam whips, which have grown into mature hedging, but also by the Tibetan Cherry, the Paper Bark Maple and the Eastern Redbud Forest Pansy tree. I had fun choosing the trees!
I also had fun with the pond: after all, every garden needs water. It not only draws in wildlife, but it reflects the beautiful acer, and I can see it from the kitchen. I love texture within a garden. It creates a sense of calm.
I am also very interested in colour and together these plants create an unusual but beautiful planting palette of apricot, pale lime, lavender and cream.
By concentrating on the planting, I’ve also created a space that’s wonderful for wildlife. Even on an autumn day, the garden is alive with pollinators, thrumming with bees. They’re not alone in loving it: the garden is my happy place, my retreat…and my husband and dog love it too!
