A charming, much-loved garden brimming with inspiration and good ideas

Hidden behind a high hedge and overlooking three quarters of an acre of garden is The Knoll, an old stone house originally built by the present owner’s great-grandparents in 1896.   Over the past 43 years, descendent John and his wife Alison have breathed new life into the property, redesigning the garden and creating a tranquil green space, well planted and beautifully maintained.

A small gate in the hedge leads to the garden through a leafy area where shade-loving plants thrive beneath a stand of tall pin oaks. This is one of several lushly planted areas sheltered by the canopies of the many trees on the site.

By contrast, warm open areas feature blue convolvulus cascading over stone retaining walls, with roses, lavender, agapanthus, iris, salvias, succulents, and pots of geraniums providing plenty of colour. Neatly trimmed hedges, both tall and small and clipped domes of foliage are dotted throughout, adding form to the profusely planted flower beds. In these sunny areas, the plants and hedges, along with terracotta pots and gravel paths, give the garden a cottagey, Mediterranean feel.

A large gazebo and most of the structures and hardscaping in the garden are John’s handywork. Another of his projects has been repurposing and adapting old picture frames for Alison to create green ‘living pictures’ using the rich colours and textures of succulents as her medium.  An old water pump that trickles water into a small pond is one of several pre-loved items now transformed into quirky garden art.