WILD AT HEART

NOTHING ABOUT THIS EXUBERANT GARDEN CONFORMS TO TRADITION – AND IT’S ALL THE BETTER FOR IT

- Miriam Methuen-Jones

Spring is upon us at last, the season of rejuvenation, reorganisation and pottering in the garden. ‘Pottering’ is much too dismissive a word to attach to this garden, however. The impressive grounds cover three acres (although much of this is orchard and paddocks) and have been ingeniously brought to life by their owner, interior designer Joanna Wood, with the help of landscape architect Max Askew. “I have a huge interest in garden design, but I don’t have the construction knowledge that goes with good architectural garden design,” says Wood. “Max was imperative when it came to the support systems, drainage, subsoils, edgings and all those architectural details that are critical to creating a landscape.”Wood purchased the house five years ago and spent the first two years tackling the interiors. The listed property was built in 1720 (“although we have records of a dwelling here right back to the Romans – we’ve got a Roman well!”), so she inherited some treasures. Original stone walls, 18th-century yew hedges and a charming avenue of pleached limes were the highlights, but the garden itself was a mess. “It had been left basically untouched for 70 years. It was dense and overgrown, which made everything feel very dark. The first thing Max and I did was to look at where we could clear out and make vistas.”