A GLORIOUS GATHERING

Barney and Victoria Martin have filled their garden with flowers for cutting, realising a dream of working with nature and living off the land

- JACKY HOBBS

Sheltered within the brick walls at Stokesay, masses of flowers bloom into autumn, including dense spikes of white snapdragons and clusters of slender-stemmed Verbena bonariensis

Each row of flowers grown for cutting is neatly planted with one type, with stakes and mesh used to support the stems and flower heads

IN THE GARDEN WITH…

Growers Victoria and Barney Martin created Stokesay Flowers in a Victorian walled garden in Shropshire. Collie-cross Ned and four Barbu d’Uccle chickens help with the digging! Garden features One-acre, south-facing, sloping Victorian walled cut-flower garden with rich clay soil and a loose grid layout with multiple beds, central pergola, flower workshop, eco-loo and mini chicken house.