A beautifully laid out garden filled with many vibrant roses and perennials

Tucked away at the end of a long, hedge-lined drive is Luna’s Garden, named for the fine life-sized bronze statue of Luna, a joyful, pony-tailed young girl who appears to be playing in the garden. The drive opens to a gravel courtyard flanked by box-edged, flower-filled garden beds, providing a hint of what lies beyond!

Flowers are everywhere and are a highlight of the garden! The many roses have been selected for their colour as well as their ability to repeat-flower, including David Austin varieties and climbers trained up and over walls. The thornless deep pink heritage rose, Zephirine Drouhin, covering the smart white pool house, is a standout. Mingling with the roses are bright, colourful perennials, including vivid pink Armeria ‘Bees Ruby’, salvias in a myriad of colours, catmint, chrysanthemums, purple buddleias, and wallflowers, along with other old-fashioned favourites.

A huge old oak tree is the cornerstone of the main garden, and sheltered beneath its spreading canopy are a wide selection of shade-loving plants, some chosen for their flowers, and others for their interesting foliage. Hedges are a feature: the tall ones provide privacy and a dense green backdrop to the colourful planting, and the smaller ones define garden beds. Additional trees have been planted to give height, and some autumn colour, and magnolias and pencil pines create a permanent framework.

The house's design includes several small courtyards, each overlooked from within. In each, a garden bed is imaginatively filled with plant combinations suited to its aspect. Roses add colour in the sunny spots with hydrangeas or species that prefer filtered light in others.

The productive garden with several raised vegetable beds is divided from the main garden by a curved sandstone-walled flower bed that wraps around the trunk of a very old palm tree – like the oak tree, the palm is a remnant from a previous garden. An arch and climbing frames support vegetables, citrus trees line the fence, and in all, eight fruit trees and vines have been cleverly packed into the area.

A hidden gem – thoughtfully planned, beautifully planted and very pretty!