The Gardens
When we arrived at Merryweather’s Farm there were no gardens, no hedges (apart from the neglected boundaries of the land) and lots of brambles. There were a few fruit trees up near the house and a half acre of wood at the bottom of the land which the estate agent had neglected to tell us about. (I don’t think they ever ventured that far!) The rest was overgrown with weeds but otherwise a blank canvas.
We had a plan, and that plan was to garden organically, grow our own food, start a small nursery selling herbs and create well designed, beautiful gardens for self-sufficiency and wildlife - to give something back to our ravaged planet. And perhaps most importantly, we wanted to plant trees - lots of trees.
Before we could grow anything we had to create shelter and that meant planting hedges. Each garden we created started with a hedge, and outside the hedge was a fence to keep the rabbits at bay.
The Kitchen Garden
1995
1996/7
2014
The Herb Garden
1998
1994
2023
The Nuttery
1998/99
2022
2007
The Cottage Garden
2007
1997
2005
2021
2024