A lovely garden in the Wye Valley is packed with ideas

A haven with a captivating view has replaced an overgrown paddock next to Rob and Jan Basford’s home in the Forest of Dean, as Sue Bradley discovers

Views don’t get much better than the one of the wye Valley enjoyed by Rob and Jan Basford. Back in the 1990s, the couple, from Brockweir in Gloucestershire, spent three years looking out over limitless trees and fields, before moving to a larger property to accommodate their growing family.

so when in 2012 their plans to downsize coincided with their previous home coming back onto the market, they didn’t think twice about returning, although this time around they were determined to make the most of the acre of land lying between their late 20th century scandinavian-built property and the countryside beyond.

“it always used to be a paddock and was filled with nettles, docks and brambles,” explains Jan, who works

“It used to be filled with nettles, docks and brambles”

in market research. “when we moved back we decided to do something a bit more dramatic – a fitting setting for the lovely view.”

An orchard with apple, quince, pear and fig trees was the couple’s first plan for the space, but they changed their minds after the plot was cleared of brambles and a shape began to emerge post-clearance.

“For some reason i had it in my head that the plot had taken the shape of a leaf,” recalls Rob. “i thought i would have a single central vein pathway and other thin veins splitting it into borders;

our house before this one had wide borders and it was difficult to get into them – this could be more open.

“One day I looked out of our bedroom window and realised that the design looked like a ladder: this prompted me to make changes to make the garden less symmetrical. I edged the beds with stones and

replaced some of the grass paths with gravel.”

While Rob was busy fine-tuning the design, Jan filled the borders he had created with combinations of colourful leaves and flowers.

“I love perennials: we had a lot given to us and we brought a lot from our previous garden,” she explains. “Rob’s a hairdresser and every week he’d come home with his car boot full of plants that customers had given him; often we didn’t know what they were.

“There were masses of Michaelmas daisies and we included a lot of these, and I grew lots of annuals to fill in the gaps. Rob likes grasses and over time they’ve self-seeded in various spots.”

Jan has gone on to fine-tune her planting scheme, mixing fruit trees with evergreens, perennials, grasses, shrubs and more than 50 roses. She has also included features such as metal arches to support climbers and add an element of height.

The latest additions include a Mediterranean border and parallel rows of beech trees that are destined to become a tunnel.

“We’ve changed a lot of the garden as time has gone on and we’re still tweaking it,” says Jan.

“We love the way the borders build in colour over the summer. We leave it until February and March, when we chop it down. The garden is quite high maintenance and we spend a lot of time out here. In fact, if we were to employ someone, we reckon it would be a full-time job.”

Keep planting to a reasonable level so it doesn’t obstruct a glorious view. Rob and Jan’s home looks out onto the Wye Valley

Combine perennials and grasses for long-lasting colour, but allow enough space so they really shine. Include Stipa gigantea for firework-like explosions of straw-coloured seedheads

Include low-growing apple trees within a perennial border for spring blossom and jewel-like fruit as autumn approaches

Use shaped evergreens for year-round structure that acts as a calming foil to exuberant perennials

An Easter Islandstyle head stands out amid the ferns surrounding a wildlife pond

Sow cathedral bells (Cobaea scandens) for a fast-growing and self-twining climbing annual with masses of velvety and scented lavenderblue bells

Choose plants that look interesting after their flowers have faded, such as St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) with its red and black berries

Go for contrasts: a sinuous path stands out against the gravel borders, while a ‘Tropicana Black’ canna underplanted with pelargoniums draws the eye

Make the most of the fast-growing and clump-forming properties of Persicaria bistorta to edge and define a border

Stained glass is set within a stone surround to add variety to a border

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Red Chief’, with its feathery red flower panicles