Guided tour part 2 - the veg and 'secret' gardens

The 'secret garden' is my nickname for an area of narrow gravel paths and clematis-covered arches near the house. This leads to the veg garden, nicely edged with box and sleepers. It's the only area I've made significant progress with. It's all dug over ready for mulching this weekend, weather permitting.

Through the hedge to the sundial which sits in the centre of the secret garden.

And looking back the other way from the far side of the sundial. This area is a mess of untrimmed lonicera hedging and overgrown shrubs at the moment.

A little horticultural joke - a bench formed from trained beech around a metal frame. It'll look more obvious when it's in leaf.

This is meant to be a herb bed, but it was mostly full of fuchsia stock plants. It'll be a herb bed again soon.


Part of the veg plot. Spot the lovely collection of hellebores in the right hand bed. Some are superb - but I'll have to find another home for them soon. I need the spot for beans.

A guided tour. Part 1 - around the cottage.

I've posted a few pictures but they've been a bit disconnected. So I'm going to attempt to take you on a virtual tour of the garden as it is now, i.e. before I start work on it. All I've done so far is cut the lawns. We'll start at the back door...

Looking straight out of the back door is a brick/wood pergola covered with a mix of climbers, but mostly the yellow canary creeper, Tropaeolum peregrinum, which has self-seeded to excess absolutely everywhere.



Turning right just before the pergola takes you through an arch to the original cottage garden.


Part of the old cottage garden.




Turning right towards the conservatory is a pretty circular garden by the conservatory. Buried under last years' mess is a lovely collection of unusual hellebores and pulmonarias