Today, as part of the National Garden Scheme, Ian Kitson’s award winning garden in Alfriston was open to the public. So, in our usual ‘don’t need an excuse’ manner, we tootled on down for a nosey about.
First impressions? Crazy! Crazy paving! Made crazier by the fact no joints were mortared that exaggerated it’s craziness!
The flint walls were so beautiful and in keeping with the property, the local geology and also reflected the undulations of the landscape around the garden. The planting in the top of the walls was nice feature. Within the walls were planting beds, a wavy box hedge and the crazy paving.
Although not our favoutate feature of the garden, in Ian’s defense he has probably brought the paving style back – a brave decision – and maybe it will be en trend material now. Let’s watch this space!
As for the rest of garden, the pond, with its beautiful sinuous deck was lovely. Really well constructed with narrow timbers and the curves were so smooth and inviting. Seating areas were located along its length and you could really imagine yourself sitting with a sun-downer Pimms! hmm!
One interesting aspect of the garden was that, although it was built of a steep slope, there were very few steps. The woodland walk had some, but the rest of the garden didn’t. The paths were so meandering and followed the lye of the land, so the fall didn’t feel steep or difficult at all. Curves of hawthorn and Yew hedging cleverly hid aspects of the garden and made you want to travel around so see what was around the corner. An informal orchard, trained specimen trees, pictorial and native meadows, the woodland walk and planting within the top of the flint walls were all touches to the garden that we liked.
The planting? Well, to a plants-person it could have a little more intersting. Julie Toll was the designer here, and she has designed to a limited colour palette and with a lot of repetition. All valid design techniques, but not one we felt really brought the garden alive. More variety and diversity would have really lifted the garden and made it so much more interesting, particularly considering its local environment.
Anyway, a good time spent poking about someone elses garden! Cannot complain! Except the tea and coffee table closed before we managed to get one!
