There was always a hen patch just above the courtyard, its dacha-like hen house sheltered under a dark pink-flowered horse chestnut, which Simon echoed with scarlet hawthorn along the neighboring track. The Somerset Blue Lias cobbles – ‘the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought,’ he admits – spread across the track, a welcoming, settled feeling and a sense that Manor Farm has always been like this.
Again there is the elevated kitchen garden – a working area full of charm with oversized Victorian terracotta rhubarb forceps, hazel pea tunnels and lines of chives. Opposite this is Simon’s greenhouse, which has a chintz-covered chair and a radio to listen to crickets while he’s potting.
As you drive away from the house, you will pass summer trees with white flowers treesincluding Cornus causa And Magnolia siboldi ‘Pride of Norway’, passing Alexa’s studio in a converted open barn (with its Persian-carpeted veranda picnic Appreciating the gardens spring Blossom), until you reach a restored woodland and lake. Here, you’ll find snowdrops, bluebells and wild garlic at this time of year, and Osmunda regaled and broadleaf hosta in summer.
Eager to share his unstoppable new passion, Simon now leads garden tours with his friend, author Jason Goodwin. He takes a private visit pending gardenOften joined by local friends, guests are greeted with the generosity and attention to detail you’d expect from a gardener who has created this lovingly tended, absolutely beautiful garden of her own.
G&T Garden Tour: gtgardentours.co.uk
