DESCRIPTION OF THE GARDEN
This small, town garden is decorated with over 450 plants creating a welcoming oasis of calm. The owners love to experiment with the garden planting schemes which ensures the look of the garden alters from year to year. Narrow paths divide, leading the visitor on a discovery of the garden's many features. The sound of water is ever-present.
Water features, metal sculptures, wall art and mirrors run throughout the garden. As a time and cost saving experiment all hanging baskets are planted with hardy perennials most of which are normally used for ground cover.
Further Details: The garden has evolved over 4 decades and can now be said to realise the owner's aim of encouraging the visitor to 'wander, discover and enjoy'. By taking the narrow paths each of which divides, thereby continually offering a choice of direction, the visitor will be able to find several different routes around the garden and come across the many features the garden has to offer.
There are five seating areas from where the visitor can take in views of the garden and listen to the relaxing, ever-present sound of trickling water. The dense planting throughout together with stone statues, metal sculptures, wall art and the use of mirrors ensure there is plenty to enjoy.
For description purposes the plot can be divided into four areas. The patio section has a productive area, plants, shrubs and trees all contained in pots along with a seating area. There are four paths leading from the patio, each of which takes the visitor through the 'front' flower beds and under a pergola to the middle section of the garden.
The front section of the garden contains flower beds and a small garden shed, to the front of which is a gravelled area which includes a water feature.
The middle section of the garden contains a “tunnel” which has been created with the use of clematis, a wisteria and a cotinus. The tunnel is bordered on one side by a shaded area containing a water feature and on the other by the "central" flower bed which includes fruit trees and a water feature. The middle section also contains a gravelled area planted with grasses and containing paving stones for ease of access. Two secluded seating areas give views across the central flower bed and tunnel. The visitor can access the end section of the garden via three different paths.
The end section of the garden contains some small changes in ground levels the biggest of which is 2 steps up/down (with a hand rail) between the central area and the fernery area. There are 2 gravel areas (one on each side of the central paved area). The fernery section contains a seating area and the other gravel area contains two small stone benches from which views across and diagonally back down the garden can be enjoyed. The visitor can cross from one planted gravel area to the other via the paved section which contains flower beds, linked water features and stone statues.