Pete jokes that the garden is all about ‘softening’ the shed, which it does with the charm of cottagey masses of flowers, mixed with the structure of beds formed from railway sleepers. Jen is a painter and her eye for colour, form and texture is apparent in the gentle mix of plants. “I like things to be a bit of a riot,” she says, “with things coming up between other things and everything a little bit wild.”
Swathes of grass curve around beds of cistus, penstemon, lavender and roses. ‘Royal gala’ apples are espaliered on a fence dividing the upper from lower parts of the garden. Flighty red-stemmed guara floats between spires of blue sage; California daisies find a patch of sun; wallflowers bloom alongside lacy Dusty Miller foliage; and lumps of scented pelargonium release their fragrance as you brush past.
All the building materials used in the garden, and in Jenn’s work/painting studio, are recycled, lending a sense of history and solidity to what is a relatively new garden. The combination of old materials and masses of flowers contributes to a sense of romance, which finds its peak in the form of a very cute greenhouse/potting shed currently filled with tomatoes and surrounded by mounds of rhubarb and galloping nasturtiums.
Hartvale is open this weekend (February 27 and 28) and again on the weekend of March 6 and 7. Jen will open her studio and two local potters and an ironworker will be offering works for sale. Highfields, Wild Meadows and Goryu will also be open in Little Hartley on March 6 and 7. A bit further on, at Yetholme, Hillandale is also open for the weekend, when Sarah Ryan will host some local makers in her beautiful garden.
