A tranquil and pretty Hills garden with plenty of places to pause and enjoy the plants.

When Lynne and David bought their one acre Aldgate property there was no garden but now, thirty years later, The Glades has matured into a beautiful, leafy mix of tall trees, carefully chosen shrubs, perennials and groundcovers. The varied foliage and flowers form a tapestry of colour and contrasting leaf textures that make the garden interesting throughout the year.

Beneath the trees, a web of meandering paths designed for strolling with a drink in hand, offer lovely views of the garden, its shaded woodland areas and the sunlit glades that give the garden its name.

David has built steps including the impressive brick staircase leading up to the house and the many metres of walling that form terraces on the gently sloping block. The pathways, in places linked with little, low bridges, twist and turn to reveal a different view of the garden at every bend and the small walls offer spots to sit.

In spring when the trees have their fresh new leaves and the many flowering plants are a feature, the garden is especially pretty with ajuga, aquilegia, alstroemeria, rhododendrons, dogwoods, iris, and clivia adding pops of colour amongst the myriad of greens. Show stoppers Kolkwitzia amabilis (beauty bush) and Deutzia smother their arching stems with soft pink and white blooms and Jovellana violacea (violet tea cup plant) is an eye-catching mass of nodding lilac bells.

A lovely focal point is the rocky waterfall that trickles water from a winter creek into a tranquil pond below. Greenery, including a variety of ferns and grasses fill the crevices amongst the large boulders that edge the pond and looking charming and poised in her surroundings, is a tiny bronze statue of a dancer by local Mylor sculptor, David Wilding.