BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
Nectar-rich flowers, a lily pond and lush planting create a natural refuge for mammals, birds and insects. Owners Robert and Claire Bailey-Scott give us a tour
This colourful garden in the Lincolnshire Fens is a feast of flowers, foliage and wildlife. Here, deep borders are crammed with plants in a riotous tapestry of colour and texture. It’s no surprise that for the past 11 years, owners Rob and Claire Bailey-Scott have only taken their holidays in February before their perennial-packed garden springs into life. “After that, there’s no time to get away!” says Rob. It’s a small price to pay for such a colourful and inviting garden. While Claire tends the organic vegetable patch and small orchard, Rob’s domain embraces the perennial borders, annual f lower meadow and two bog gardens on either side of a pond he dug himself. “In the growing season, Claire can be at one end of the garden while I’m at the other,” says Rob. “At this time of year, I’ll be getting on top of weeds and mulching. We use a pair of kids’ walkie-talkies to keep in touch with each other during the day!”
wild & free (clockwise from above left) Daylilies, purple Lythrum salicaria and fluffy white Persicaria alpina beneath a silver birch; Robert dug the pond by hand; leafy hostas provide a foil for dierama, persicaria ‘Red Dragon’ and lilies; purple Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Fascination’ and Leucanthemum superbum ‘becky’; a perfect spot to watch birds and butterflies
When the couple moved into their Grade II-listed 16th-century farmhouse in 2007, the property was very neglected. “There was nothing in the garden except two yew trees, grass up to my waist and nettles above my head,” says Rob. “We’d previously owned newbuild homes with much smaller gardens, so neither Claire nor I had much gardening experience. “My inspiration has come from my in-laws,” says Rob. “They’re really good gardeners who made me see that ordinary people can make extraordinary gardens.” Rob’s first task was to clear 27 tonnes of concrete and eight tonnes of gravel that formed the original farmyard. “After that, I had no masterplan,” he says. “I really did just start at one end and keep going. I created a large border, around 10m (33ft) deep, then dug out the pond by hand with a spade. I love ponds because they draw in wildlife and they’re so restful. You can see
My in-laws made me see that ordinary people can make extraordinary gardens
the sky reflected in the water, and the shimmering silver birches beyond.” A lush lawn rolls gently down to the pondside, providing a verdant backdrop for the planting. “When we moved in, the grass was wild,” says Rob. “My father-inlaw advised me not to dig it out and returf as I originally wanted, but just to keep cutting it. So I did that, and fed it in autumn and spring, and this is the result! Nothing had been grown on this land for years, so the soil’s full of nutrients.” Gardening on a relatively large scale, Rob has been able to indulge his passion for big plants such as Gunnera manicata by the pond and taller grasses including stripy Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ and Stipa gigantea. “I also like to mix tall spire shapes with daisies and globes, and if you keep repeating that format, it creates a nice rhythm in the border,” explains Rob. “On a smaller scale you can plant spires of persicarias alongside feathery, nectarrich veronicastrums, and bobbing spheres of blue echinops.” Five years ago, the couple bought an extra piece of land next to the garden. “Here we’ve made a massive annual flower meadow,” says Rob. “Each year in May, I’ll sow a kilo of locally bought wildflower seeds, including corn marigolds, poppies and cornflowers. I mix my seeds with sawdust before I start sowing, so the areas
I mix tall spire shapes with daisies and globes – it creates a nice rhythm
that have been sown stand out and you can see where you’ve sown. It means you get more even coverage. Eight weeks later, you get an absolute mass of meadow flowers.” As a focal point in this dazzling meadow, Rob has positioned a wrought iron antique bench at the head of a mown grass path. “It’s the perfect place to sit and watch the birds and butterflies,” he says. “I like to create focal points among the plantings to give them a sense of purpose. I collect antique tools too, and I bought a lovely Victorian wheelbarrow from a local antiques shop. It all creates interest.” Rob plants densely to reduce the amount of weeding he has to do. “Gardening without chemicals as we do here means encouraging beneficial wildlife to get rid of pests,” says Rob. “We have three chickens to help to control the slugs, and our resident hedgehogs are useful with that too. We feed and encourage birds as much as we can. I’ve counted 57 different species visiting here. luxuriant planting (clockwise from top left) Lupins, crocosmia and dahlias frame the lawn; the meadow is full of corn marigolds, loved by bees; alchemilla and potted agapanthus by the back door; sweet corn and potatoes in the veg patch; clipped box with topiaried photinia ‘Red Robin’ above Forcing jars for rhubarb with feathery asparagus behind “In summer, you get the full reward: walking through one of the borders with the plants stretching up taller than I am, the whole garden just seems to buzz and hum with life.”