Water garden idyll
A patch of marshy land in Cheshire has been transformed into a Monet-style water garden. Owner Tony Overland reveals its secrets
Kingfishers and dragonflies adore this tranquil water garden near the Delamere Forest in Cheshire. The large pond’s shady meanders are sheltered by birch, alder and willow trees, its shallows colonised by irises and marsh marigolds. “We’ve planted a wide range of moisture-loving plants around the pond,” says owner Tony Overland, who gardens here with his wife Janet. “We went for a natural look, so the garden reflects the beauty of the surrounding countryside.” A generous spread of vivid candelabra primulas have thrived and sown themselves around in pockets, while swathes of pink cow parsley, bamboo, persicaria and epimediums enjoy the damp soil, adding colour to a pondside fringed with strappy iris foliage in spring. “There are so many beautiful pond plants and we have the ideal conditions for them to thrive,” he says. The garden is situated down a valley in the rain shadow of the Welsh hills. “It’s remarkably sheltered and has its own microclimate,” says Tony. “But thanks to the high water table, the garden was a boggy swamp when we moved here 35 years ago. It was surrounded by brambles and a dense treescape of alders and willows. We had grand plans for it, but first Janet and I concentrated on renovating our new home and bringing up our three young children.” Eventually Tony, a Kew-trained horticulturist, set to work reclaiming his swampy garden with help from his twin sons: Andrew, a horticulture graduate who trained at Pershore, and Philip, who graduated from Leeds as a landscape architect. “We started clearing out the extremely silty mire that was the pond,” says Tony. “But the marshy ground was too wet to be of much use, so we raised
“There are so many beautiful pond plants and we have the ideal conditions for them”
the surrounding ground level instead – using soil excavated from building our extension. We were landscaping and digging for a good while!” With the pond edges raised and better defined, the Overlands planted lots of Symphytum ibericum (Iberian comfrey) as temporary groundcover. “We needed some form of weed control,” explains Tony. “This species is less vigorous and has shallower roots than common comfrey, so it was easy to dig up again when the time came to put in a more permanent planting scheme.” Today there’s a well-groomed but naturalistic look throughout the garden.
LEAFY LOVELINESS (clockwise from left) A jetty leads to the plant nursery across the pond, with cerise candelabra primulas and feathery aconitum in the foreground; paths are edged with primulas, forget-menots, epimediums and leafy ligularia ‘The Rocket’; red geum ‘Bell Bank’; pink umbels of hairy chervil Chaerophyllum hirsutum ‘Roseum’
“We allow it to evolve so it stays as natural as possible,” says Tony. “I’ve planted moisture-lovers in the damp areas and shade lovers in the wooded glades. But away from the pondside our soil is rather sandy and free-draining, so for a bit of variety I’ve planted drought-lovers such as echinops and eryngiums. Crocosmias just about grow anywhere, so they’re in our moist and dry areas alike. “After 50 years of growing plants I keep discovering new favourites, and I’m running out of room,” Tony laughs. “One of my more unusual favourites is Equisetum hyemale. It’s a member of the mare’s tail family, which frightens many visitors as it can spread somewhat. However, it’s nowhere near as invasive as its cousin, Equisetum arvense, and looks attractive, like a fresh green bamboo. “I’m also a great lover of trees and over the years I’ve added to the existing tree canopy,” he says. “Near the house, British natives stand next to swamp cypresses from the Everglades and dawn redwoods from China, Himalayan pines, Japanese acers, a monkey puzzle and enormous yuccas – offering a whole range of colours, leaf shapes and sizes. They all seem to love it there. One dawn redwood I planted 30 years ago is nearly 40ft tall now!” Almost all the plants are left to their own devices over winter, allowing the old foliage and stems to die down naturally, but work starts in earnest in early spring. “We clear away all the dead matter and dig up and divide the huge beds of Iris sibirica, which is a fantastic way to increase our garden and nursery stock. We also move vigorous plants such as hemerocallis and leucanthemum out of the more densely planted areas to avoid having them suffocate their neighbours.” Each year, Tony and the boys spread barrowloads of woodchip mulch across the borders to cut down on weeding. “We also carry out any maintenance work on the wooden walkways that stretch across the pond to reach our plant nursery and tearoom,” says Tony. “It’s a lovely route to walk to work.” Not only is the garden a glorious showcase for their nursery, it’s raised thousands of pounds for charity too. “We began opening the garden for the National Garden Scheme around 1995,” says Tony. “We also sell season tickets for the garden, hold willow-weaving and stone sculpture courses and even have a couple of weddings on the horizon. “Plants are at the heart of our little enterprise though, and we like to sell unusual ones to excite the plant-lovers. We’ve got all sorts, from tulbaghias and hardy orchids to oriental poppies, campanulas and more.” Tony’s favourite time is May and early summer, when his plants are looking their fulsome best. “But I can walk out the door now, or at any time of year, and say – isn’t nature wonderful?”
“We allow the garden to evolve so it stays as natural as possible”