✿ Romantic garden takes its cues from nature
This secluded garden in Cornwall has the atmosphere of an enchanted forest. Owner Claire Woodbine reveals how it was created
This wild and romantic garden in Cornwall has a magical, enchanted atmosphere. “We wanted to create a dreamscape,” says owner Claire Woodbine, who lives here with her husband Mark. “The idea was to create a beautiful, naturalistic garden that looks as though nature has done all the hard work for you.” Claire and Mark’s ‘untamed’ garden is inspired by their local Cornish landscape – meadows, coastline and woodland. But although it might look like an undiscovered corner of Eden, the reality is that it takes a lot of hard work to get the natural look. “After such a wet winter, it’s all systems go in spring to make sure the garden looks good in time for its first opening in May,” says Claire. “We’re surrounded by trees so the garden gets covered with a deep layer of leaf litter that has to be raked up in time for the perennials to push up their first leaves. “We also have to repair our meandering paths after the winter rains, and finish all the winter pruning, too. “Sowing annuals is one of our most important jobs in early spring,” says Claire. “It means the borders will be full of colour and movement by summer. We tend to sow them in modules, then pot them on into larger containers when the seedlings are grown. Once the plants are established and the frosts have passed we’ll plant them out into the borders for instant impact.” The garden wasn’t always such as magical haven of flowers. “Our house was once the lodge for a country estate, and the garden was part of its gravelled drive,” says Claire. “When we first moved here with our young daughters more than 30 years ago, it was overgrown with laurel and the invasive Rhododendron ponticum. We had to set about cutting down the overgrown plants and clearing the site. We winched out all the roots, chopped them down and burnt them. We should have hired a digger, but we were such hippies we thought a digger would compact the soil too much. So we did everything by hand – it took months!” Because of its hilltop position, the garden needed a new windbreak once the laurel had been removed. “We excavated a hole for a new septic tank and used the soil to build a raised bank, then planted it with bamboo to create more shelter,” says Claire.
“Thanks to the bamboo and other tall trees the garden is much more sheltered now.” Initially the couple concentrated on growing vegetables. “At first the garden had a simple layout of a large lawn surrounded by vegetable beds, but gradually the productive areas were replaced by flower beds full of cottage-garden plants. “We realised that the garden we’d made didn’t really do justice to the surrounding countryside, so we gradually dug it up,” says Claire. “Instead we planted acid-loving camellias in groups to create some shrubby evergreen structure, then laid dozens of little winding paths to create an enchanted secret-garden feel.”
“We should have hired a digger, but we were such hippies we thought a digger would compact the soil too much!”
“Laying the new paths really helped create the character of the garden,” says Claire. “They’re very decorative, using a combination of local slate, pebbles and flagstones.” The Woodbines’ young daughters still needed space to play, so the couple set aside an area of meadow, planting it with spring bulbs and ox-eye daisies in the long grass. They made a romantic feature of it by installing their very own stone circle. “We used granite stones from higher up on the Cornish moors and stood them in a ring, creating a tranquil spot that has an ancient feel,” says Claire. “It was a way of trying to connect our garden to the wildness of Cornwall. Our garden visitors often assume we laid them along ley lines, but we just stood them where they looked most natural.” Another rock feature is a cone that the couple sculpted from concrete then faced with cobble stones. “It’s inspired by the Albert-Kahn Japanese Gardens in Paris, which has a similar sculpture dedicated to world peace,” says Claire. “My sculpture sits right in the centre of the garden – a bit like a belly button!” Now the main garden is mature, the main work involves keeping trees and shrubs in check, and making sure there are lots of hardy and tender annuals to place around the garden to increase the colour. “The garden is an ongoing project and we continue to make changes where and when they’re needed,” says Claire. “When we don’t like something, we’ll take it apart and rebuild it somewhere else. I’ve learned to garden through trial and error and we do get more ruthless as time goes on. The garden really is an experiment!”