Hill House Richmond Hill

We started planting the garden 5 years ago following the construction of the house and it's still a work in progress. The plot is long and linear facing South. Exposed to the sun all day, much of the garden is suited to Mediterranean planting, so Olive Trees, Fig trees, and Rosemary have been used widely. Our lawn is faring less well in the current dry heat, although the grass we leave uncut grows more freely and looks healthier, and it is lovely to find the self seeded pink common vetch flowering in it.

The area we use most is the terrace, surrounded by olive trees, and plant pots filled with box, and flowering plants. Adjacent is a large flower bed edged with rosemary. The alliums are just starting to go to seed, whilst geraniums, euphorbia oblongata, roses and peonies are all doing well. This bed has a slightly wild nature, as do other areas of the garden. Leaving it less pristine seems to be good for insects and birds, so we try not to worry too much about encroaching grass, buttercups, and various other weeds that inevitably make their home here too.

9 Richmond Hill

The garden was created from a building site some 20 years ago. It sits within a south facing walled garden. The concept of the garden is to have different areas reflecting the different growing conditions of the garden but also something for everyone whether children seeking tadpoles or climbing trees, food for the table, flowers, or somewhere to sit quietly or entertain. This video is best watched full screen.

11 Richmond Road

The previous owner of our property told us she bought it for the view, which is definitely more impressive than my garden. Hence my first photo! She was a Chelsea Flower Show judge and employed a gardener to cope with the size. We have no gardener and in lockdown I have been looking after my 92 year old mother so the garden is not at its best. The second photo was taken last year and the following photographs represent the best parts of my garden this year ending with my favourite - the Smoke Bush.

Rannoch House

The garden was laid according to a landscape plan immediately after the house was built in 2014. The main garden, as seen in the video, overlooks Charlcombe valley and Solsbury Hill to the east, Bathford and the Avon Valley to the south east. There are smaller garden areas to one side and the front of the house.

Current planting is largely still consistent with the landscape plan and features a range of shrubs, such as pittosporum, choisya and hibiscus; lower down are hebe, euphorbia and cistus, with euonymus and persicaria as examples of ground cover. Height is provided by three betula, underplanted with corpus alba, and several varieties of ornamental grasses can be seen here and there.The garden is bordered by a hornbeam hedge on the north side and a patio on the west side which is flanked with English and French lavender.

Somerset House

Our garden has developed slowly over the last five years after the completion of building Somerset House. A few plants (hardy geranium and kniphofia) were dug up and saved during the build and are now happily resettled amongst the herbaceous. The rear garden was tackled first with the installation of a pleaching framework (Hornbeam) at the back of two large, predominantly, herbaceous borders. Many plants came with us, mostly from the propagation of seeds and cuttings. Most recently the boundary Leylandii hedging at the rear and west side of the garden has been replaced with fencing and an assortment of climbing/rambling roses and clematis.

The back border is mostly planted with Dahlia. The garden at the front of the house was created out of necessity to make space to plant trees and shrubs we have bought. This year the tulips in Spring were amazing, especially given how wet it was in the six months preceeding. Sadly the blazing sun and heat of the last six weeks has meant there a meld of spring and summer flowering plants all demanding our attention …. but the riot of colour is a joy to wake up to.

9 Springfield Place

The garden at Springfield Place was initially created in the autumn of 2016 and planting has continued throughout the last three and a half years. The plot was split into two gardens and a small working area with shed and greenhouse at the southern end.

A Hornbeam hedge has been planted across the centre with two arches leading from the lawn garden into a small orchard with apples , pears, plums and cherries in four corners underplanted with a mix of herbaceous geraniums (Cranesbill) much of which was in the original garden. The central circular bed has been planted with roses, Darcey Bussell, Princess Alexandra of Kent and Sceptred Isle surrounded by a box border and now underplanted with small salvias. The roses and salvias are in full bloom, about four weeks too early but still glorious. The video is best watched full screen.

The lawn garden has a south facing, mainly perennial border with the other three sides planted with a mix of perennials and shrubs. Due to the exceptionally hot weather in April and May many of the plants have already reached their peak. Herbs, mint, chives, rosemary, thyme and tarragon are dotted around the garden, wherever space permits. As a gardener my philosophy has always been, if you love the plant find it a home and worry about the plan later. You can judge whether this has worked successfully at 9 Springfield Place.

The Millennium Green

End your tour with a visit to the Millennium Green and then try some virtual tea and cake! Over the past months the Millennium Green has been looking spectacular and it has been extremely gratifying to see the Green so extensively used during the Covid-19 lockdown.