Llanfoist House on Easter morning After the recent bitterly cold and wintery nights and dull grey wet days we are shown the contrasts of April with some glorious sunshine and enchanting bird song. Having been nagged to go out and have a game with Beetle, our very exuberant dog, I thought I would wander round the garden and see whether anything had been damaged by the frosty nights we have Continue Reading
The orchard enclosed for safety for the chickens and ducks We hope that our very large garden will attract someone to buy the property here in Abergavenny – gardening has always been a passion and there is nothing like going into your own orchard and eating an apple, or pear picked straight from the tree. The orchard and the entire kitchen garden is surrounded by a high wire fence that Continue Reading
The Kitchen garden is a personal passion. The best method of growing vegetables is a combination of cottage garden and potager planting, so a formal layout was planned with the beds either long and narrow or small squares. This makes hoeing easier so that you don’t tread on the ground and compact the soil. The most vital part of planning this garden was to make sure that it was rabbit and fox proof. A trench was dug all round and wire netting laid in the trench and taken up over 6 ft high. The height was necessary because our slug deterants are ducks and foxes eat ducks! The ducks are allowed in the vegetable part of the garden during the winter (making sure to protect the brassicas) and they do a magnificent job of clearing up all the slugs. The goose eliminates the buttercups in the mown paths, but he is very partial to the runner beans – so his work is winter work too.
Views around the garden
View of the Scots Pine trees lining the drive – taken from across the meadow. The meadow had just been cut – late in the year to ensure that the seeds of the wildflowers were mature enough to regenerate.
The garden in the autumn
The garden
It was difficult to see exactly what the garden consisted of when we first moved into the house. An atmosphere of ‘The Secret Garden’ prevailed and over a period of several months we gradually found walls and steps and paths that lead nowhere. One beautiful curved wall is still as sound today as it was when we discovered it six months after moving into the house. Brambles clambered up into the old apple trees, terraces that once had been a productive vegetable and fruit garden appeared and once the ground ivy, vicious nettles and other invasive weeds were comparatively tamed we began to find exciting treasures such as an old asparagus bed, trained redcurrants and gooseberries.
Notes about the garden and its transformation. Large luxury house for sale with extensive gardens and paddocks. All the walls around the garden were crumbling, these have been painstakingly rebuilt. New walls were built on old foundations and flights of steps leading to different levels were built to create both interesting features, but also to give a sense of timelessness. The little potting shed was built to echo the traditions of the Continue Reading