This garden in Devon, surrounding the most beautiful medieval yeoman farmhouse, has been a delight to work on over many years. We have drawn on elements of garden making from the mid-seventeenth century, reinterpreting the ideas for today's living. Fruit and vegetables are highly important in this garden, they help to root it within the surrounding productive, farmed landscape. Much of the gardened area is given over to productivity, which is made remarkable by of the exquisite craftsmanship of the structures which support and protect the plants and enclose and edge the beds. The success of the garden is in the hands of the gardener’s skill, particularly in fruit pruning, topiary and hedge cutting and raising plants for the borders, meadows and pots which are a constantly changing celebration of the seasons. Close to the house, lots of old fashioned and traditional herbaceous plants and roses have starring roles, cast as the ‘treasures’ of the yeoman farmer –repeating through the courtyards, limited in their diversity as if they had been propagated by cuttings. We love the strength and simplicity this brings where a broader palette might dispel the precious magic of the story.
This garden is open under the National Garden Scheme.
