Visiting the Garden

Entrance to garden: £3.00
(Children free) (Nursery free)

Welcome to our developing garden and nursery project.

We moved here from a cold dry garden in North Yorkshire in November 1999, bringing with us over one thousand plants. Our initial year was spent moving soil and trying to eradicate docks, thistles, nettles, and bindweed. The smallholding had been run as a ‘Pick Your Own’, but the fruit plants and bushes all needed replanting.

As the soil is clay the exceptional winter rain in the first year held us up as we could not get on the land for weeks on end. The winter rains have been a little less since (except for this year!!) but we have put in a series of ‘French drains’ to catch the water and direct it to the pond. We have therefore been making some headway.

We are developing a garden with many themes, the latest (still under development) are a Japanese Garden and a Potager bed. We are also encouraging wild flowers, butterflies and other wildlife, especially around the pond area. Most the plants in the nursery are propagated here; many from seed collected in the garden, and the mature plants are displayed in the various flowerbeds.

Tour of the Garden

Introduction

All our beds now have green label markers with a bed letter e.g. A. This tour of the Garden guide contains the information on each bed following a route which is illustrated on the map on the page overleaf.

The Tour

Leave the plant nursery area by passing under the Arch and down the four wooden steps between the beech hedges, and then turn right. The border on your right hand side (Bed letter A) is the Hot Border and is planted with herbaceous plants and grasses in shades of red, orange and russets. Early in the season the red Crocosmia will be flowering and later the Dahlias. There are also foliage plants such as Phormiums, purple Fennel, and purple leafed Hazel. Opposite the Hot Border is the Oval Bed (B) which has canna lilies and some tall Miscanthus grasses. At the bottom of the hot border is some bog planting (C) with Iris pseudacorus (the wild yellow iris), Astilbe and Arum lilies. At the bottom you will see our pond, which is fairly being shallow, with muddy clay bottom. It is fed all year by spring water, with the result that the weeds continue to grow at an alarming rate. We clear it several times a year but this is a never ending job! By the pond is a pump (in the beehive looking wooden box) – the pump feeds three taps located in the garden for watering (and marked ‘not drinking water) – in really dry spells we can have 3 sprinklers working full time. Along side the pond are Japanese iris and primula (D). The tree face is watching you!! - Can you see him?

Turning left & proceeding over the bridge you come to our Japanese area (E) which is under development this year. Here we will have Acers, Bamboo, Grasses, and Ferns. among some gravel, granite boulders and the old Apple tree. Passing over the next bridge towards the bottom we are creating a shrub border (F) with some Hydragea and a developing woodland area. Back and to the left are three flame shaped trees – these are hornbeam which grow better in the wet clay than beech. Against the bottom boundary hedge in the shade is the Fernery (G) with many different ferns and early bulbs. To your left is the circular bed (H), which has plants to attract the bees and butterflies such as Asters, Buddlejar and Sedum. This whole area at the bottom of the garden was a very overgrow scrub when we came and, when we cleared it 3/4 years ago, we had a bonfire bigger than the house which took all winter to burn through. In the far corner are the bees, which help with the pollination. Please do not enter the roped off area.

Proceeding back up the garden, you pass the nursery stock area & large greenhouse. Here we have a small orchard with cherries, plums, apples and a walnut. On your right are autumn raspberries (PYO from August to November, strawberries (ready in June/July) and Blackcurrants (ready in July). Here we also have a vine, blackberries, sweet peas (for the B&B rooms), runner beans and Dahlias.

At this point, you can turn left down the granite steps (or continue back up the main path) through the Iris garden (I) planted with Siberian iris, Japanese iris and bog Primula. (Our ‘ancient’ well will soon appear here) Now turn right and right again back passed the Oval Bed (B) on your left and the Tulip tree bed (J). Here we have Stipa gigantea and Inula as well as the tulip tree Liriodendron tulipefera.
(continued after the map page)

Walking past the Hydragea border (K) you can now join the main path again.

Now turn right and head to the upper garden passing the Griselinia hedge on your right. Here, on your left, are four Square beds (L) with mainly herbaceous plantings in yellow, lavender, blue and white, together with some clipped box for structure. At the end of May we have many different Aquilegia (Columbines) followed by hardy Geraniums in shades of mauve and white. Later in the Summer there are lots of Asters, a particular favourite being Aster X frikartii ‘Monch’.

Above the Square beds was the Crocosmia propagation area which is now under development as a Potager (M) with vegetables and herbs. Beyond this is the small greenhouse, which is used for propagation, and the Mediterranean (O) garden, with Shrubs (N) on the right. As this is the driest part of our garden, we can grow our grey leaved plants and plants such as Artemisia, Dianthus, Perovskia and Gazania. In each quarter bed we have planted an Ilex crenata (Japanese holly) to give some structure (they look like box and are evergreen).

The Gazebo was built in 2003 with a view of the countryside and catches the last of the sun as it sets in the West. The design was inspired by one in the Abbey Gardens on Tresco. Either side of the gazebo are two wooden obelisks (made by my father) with early Clematis. Close by we have a Solar area (P) with an Italian cypress, together with cistus, rosemary, myrtle and lavenders (Q).

Proceed now to the patio area in front of the house by taking – with particular care – the steps opposite the small greenhouse, or proceed there by returning back past the four Square beds. The area in front of the house catches all the sun from mid-morning, and we have a fountain pond, and some raised beds (S,T,U) using the old stone from the barn, enabling us to grow plants which like even drier conditions, such as Dianthus and Lavenders.

The Palm (in bed S) is Cordyline australis – I planted some of its seeds and they came up in their hundreds. The two shrubs are Phlomis longifolia var. bailanica and Lophomyrtus ‘Tricolar’

In the fountain pond were 5 goldfishes, and in the first year they had 9 babies and 2 in the second year. Last year they went mad!! See if you can count them (without disturbing them)!

To the West of the house is the Silver birch (V) and Escallonia border (W) with Bay trees, Euphorbia and Lavender.

Now proceed towards the new Tea Hut and Nursery sales area. The Shade bed (Z) behind the new hut has plants that require some shade and shelter. In the spring there are many primroses, violets, celandines and small bulbs. Proceeding to the area in front of the Tea Hut from where you started the garden you walk past a new raised bed with small spring bulbs (Y) including species Tulips, Muscari and Scilla, with alpines for later in the year. The Tea Hut border (X) contains a mixture of low shrubs and annuals.

Plant Sales area

The plants are mostly grown in the garden, and there will be different ones for sale each year. If you wish to buy some plants and I am not available, please leave the money and red price labels in yellow box.

In the new hut, there is ‘do-it-yourself’ tea or coffee with biscuits (and maybe cakes!) and an information table and many photos. Occasionally on a Sunday afternoon we have special cream teas – look out for posters on the special events



Self Catering:

We have two self catering properties, The West Wing and The Garden Studio. 

Tricia Howard Telephone no. 01208 873225
Email address: hiddenvalleygardens@yahoo.co.uk 

Our garden/nursery project is receiving support from Cornish Horticulture Enterprises under Objective One funding for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

This project is co-funded by Cornish Horticulture Enterprises underObjective One for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly