Garden Update

We have long described our garden as a ‘work in progress’. When I say that to guests they always says that gardens are never finished – after seven years it seems like a good time to take stock.

When we arrived the garden was mostly grass, old bushes and giant conifers. So many conifers! Bruce headed off to learn how to wield a chain saw and start felling. There was no real plan with the garden other than to try and create something close to the house as quickly as possible.

I am in no way a garden designer and while I did have some ideas at the start there was a lot of making it up as I went along. Apart from a few mature trees it was a blank canvas which in a way is a great thing and in other ways a little overwhelming.

When we arrived the garden was mostly grass, old bushes and giant conifers. So many conifers! Bruce headed off to learn how to wield a chain saw and start felling.

There was no real plan with the garden other than to try and create something close to the house as quickly as possible. I am in no way a garden designer and while I did have some ideas at the start there was a lot of making it up as I went along. Apart from a few mature trees it was a blank canvas which in a way is a great thing but it also has its challenges.

Although we have spent quite a lot of money on the garden we have tried to keep it within a reasonable budget. There is no fancy hard landscaping, no dramatic water features and no help! To keep the costs down we plant a lot of self sowers and move them around, we have raided WI plant sales on numerous occasions. We are also lucky enough to have some great local nurseries – Ladybird and the Walled Garden – and some further afield – especially plantsman Preference and Knoll. More recently we have been able to get a wholesale account with a Suffolk based nursery that allows us to buy affordable small pots in larger numbers.

Initially we bought a poly tunnel but we got a bit bored of it been blown into the woods so eventually bought a green house. It’s not fancy (it’s still made of plastic) but it really helps with growing from seeds (though this year I hardly managed to germinate a single one – no idea what I was doing wrong. Fortunately Bruce has had more success with his veggies).

We have been told that Suffolk is so dry that technically is semi-arid (we are close to Essex that apparently as the same rainfall as Jerusalem). Rain can be very patchy (this year has been a real challenge and no doubt there will be a fair few losses) and if you add the fact that soil is effectively pure sand then what little water we receive quickly soaks away. We invested in a huge subterranean water tank to collect the rain off our huge roof.

Early on, someone sensibly suggested that we contact local tree surgeons who often have a surplus of chippings. Before we knew it, we had a mountain of chippings that covered the lawn (and continued to do so for at least a couple of years – which explains the weed-ridden state of our lawn). After the chippings have aged a while we use then to cover the beds. It doesn’t mean a lot of barrow journeys but it’s worth it – moisture is kept in the soil, weeds are by and large kept at bay and over time the soil is improved.

Initially I pretty much threw in whatever I could find in the garden centre. If there were three then I bought three and if there were five I bought five. Only in the last couple of years have I planned areas more but also bought in numbers to try and increase the repetition. So not unusually for such a large garden, we have created some separate rooms to provide some variety. Here is a quick summary:

• White garden – we initially said that this was influenced by Sissinghurst but after a guest told us that she was the archivist here we stopped saying it (that’s where we got the idea but in no way do we think that we are on a par with them).

• Cottage garden – this is a riot of blues, pinks and white. I think that this is the weakest part of the garden. I didn’t realise how hard it was to maintain this kind of the garden through the seasons. It all falls over by July. It’s also full of couch grass. Grr.

• Grass Garden – This is the area behind the guest rooms. Initially after the build this area was a mass of weeds. In fact after six months there was virtually a forest of tree lupins. Funnily enough guests loved it and ignored all the nettles and docks – ‘I love the countryside!’ was a common response. Now it has been planted with all sorts of ornamental grasses and wild flowers. Funnily enough we have spent quite a lot of money to create something that developed naturally!

• Japanese Inspired garden – this has only partly been completed. It’s been a bit of challenge – little rain, no running water and no rocks – all the constituent parts of the Japanese Garden. So much so that Guests look blankly when I mention it. I’m not surprised really. Give me a couple of years and all will become clear.

• Gravel Garden – this was the first part of the garden that we planted – because it was a long way from the house and the building work. For a long while it was a narrow strip leading to nowhere. Now there is a destination – a large space with a fire pit and a BBQ area. This new area was only planted at the end of 2021. After a dry summer it has a long way to go – I have been a bit complacent and things are not thriving. There are limits to how dry a dry garden can be if the plants haven’t had enough time to bed in

• Driveway – this is the most recent addition to the garden. For a long time the drive was lined with bamboo, bramble and old shrubs. At the end of 2022 we dug it all up in order to lay a cable for our car chargers. It’s now a mass of blue, yellow and orange. It’s struggling at the moment but hopefully it will be a welcoming site in the years to be (and not scratch the paintwork of cars). There are still some areas that are to be put in place – the area lining the lawn and the final section of the Japanese Garden. Jobs for the autumn and the winter!

So that’s a little introduction… I guess that the obvious thing to say is ‘come and see it for yourself!’.