The Vision

It was a dream to have some land, our space in the country. Chance came along. A small cottage which faced due south with a large garden and a 2 acre field. It was in the middle of glorious countryside and had fabulous views. Here was an opportunity to create a garden, we had designed with energy, love and vision. We would have to do all the work ourselves with what we had. We would have to teach ourselves the theoretical and practical skills and create something from nothing. A massive project based on no spare cash but a generous quantity of naive enthusiasm and optimism.Our own glorious secret garden.

We didn’t have a definite plan from the outset, but we did have a central and consistent idea, which was to bring the garden up to date, and divide up the field with windbreaks and create new areas.Over time we tried to be as open to change and variation as we could be. To have the confidence to start from scratch, so cheaply, and with scarce horticultural expertise we had to hold on to the vision. Take the long view. and appreciate the extra dimension you have in a garden – time.

There was so much practical work involved – clearing areas rough with saplings weeds and brambles, grass cutting ,hedge trimming, creating shelter and windbreaks. There was so much to learn about horticulture in general and the management and upkeep of a huge garden. The seasons could be harsh and unpredictable and new stock often struggled to get established, as did we. Initial plantings of 25 bare rooted saplings, 40cm tall, just tiny thin sticks bought for £6 a bundle in January looked tragically vulnerable and lost in such a big windswept space. We slowly learned about improving the clay soil, bargain ways to mulch for protection and to suppress weeds, and as time passed learned how to propagate our own stock for nothing. Yes, they had the appearance of sad lost sticks initially, but given care and a few seasons to establish we would have a grove of silver birch and red stemmed dogwoods for the evening sun to catch in winter.