The sloping garden

Patience and a love of colour have come together to make Jane Giddins’ Somerset garden more than worthy of its spectacular backdrop, as explains Sue Bradley

BORROWED views don’t come much better than parkland created by the celebrated 18th Century landscaper Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, but Jane Giddins still had her work cut out when she and her husband Grey took on a near-derelict 18th century house and garden on the outskirts of Bath 25 years ago.

For while they could see the mature trees and rolling parkland of Newton Park in the distance, closer to home the ground was choked by ground elder and bindweed, with just an ash, a cherry tree, a stretch of beech hedge and three broken greenhouses to look out on.

South-westerly winds

At the same time it became clear that the gently sloping site in the village of Newton St Loe was at the mercy of unforgiving south-westerly winds that would whip through everything in their path.

Sensibly, the Giddins were prepared to play a long game when it came to the garden and took their time in reclaiming the soil before deciding what to plant.

“My husband had got a job at the hospital in Bath, and we were planning a family; we knew we were here for life,” says Jane.

“The garden was a sea of weed when we moved in, and the only gardening I had done previously was to look after a window box at my flat in London. We felt encouraged by the knowledge that people had been gardening here for 250 years, during which time they’d worked and improved the soil.

“The best advice I got was not to plant anything until we had dealt with the ground elder and other persistent weeds, and my mother encouraged me to get a plan done because it would be a big project.”

Protective belts of hedging

After that it was a case of transforming the walled space bit by bit over a period of five-ten years. They put in protective belts of hedging to quell the worst excesses of the wind, and trees and shrubs to provide year-round structure, but ensuring that the view of the 18th Century Newton Park – now part of Bath Spa University – was in no way diminished.

“The name of the house is The Hayes, which is a hunting term meaning a sloping piece of ground,” Jane explains.

“The whole site slopes and the main thing we had to think about when

“The garden was a sea of weed when we moved in”

deciding where things were going was to sort out the levels.”

Symphony of colour

Over time a garden emerged, with deep borders and island beds, springy lawns, a potager with geometrically shaped beds lined with low box hedges and a wide terrace, underpinned by a retaining wall. Early plantings included three wisteria against the back wall of the house, which are a symphony of colour and fragrance in late spring.

Other key features of the garden include a series of arches used to support climbers such as honeysuckle and Virginia creeper, a ‘wild area’ sectioned off using an archway and wall created from cut sections of a felled tree, and an elegant water wall that makes the most of the sound and reflective qualities of water without taking up a huge amount of space.

Repetition and coherence

Jane says she has learned a lot while developing the garden and increasingly grown in confidence with her use of colour, often repeating plants in different areas to give repetition and coherence.

And she says she can now spot ground elder at 50 paces.

“The garden has been built around a theme of purple, although the predominant colours vary depending on the time of year,” explains Jane.

“I adore seeing colour combinations come together, like the yellow euphorbia and purple tulips that just sing.

“Every year is different; usually the iris follow the alliums and foxgloves, but in 2021 they all came at the same time. I do as much as I can, but Mother Nature has a hand in it, too.”

Ultimately, the garden is a family space, and one that was appreciated by Jane and Grey’s now grown-up children during the lockdowns of 2020.

“The weather was particularly lovely, and come 6pm everybody would stop work and be outside,” says Jane, whose debut novel The Way from Here is published under her pen name Jane Turner by Orion Fiction in May.

She adds: “Over the years we’ve felt grateful that our family has this space.”

“The garden has been built around a theme of purple”

Make the most of alliums in early spring for bold displays of colour and obscure their leaves by planting perennials, such as astrantia and ragged robin (Silene flos-cuculi), around them

Grow several bearded iris together for a stunning display of colour. These plants emerge from rhizomes

Grow bearded iris, like this cultivar similar to ‘Coastal Memories’, to enjoy beautiful flowers on tall stems in May and early June, along with attractive fan-shaped leaves. This plant grows from a rhizome

Mix together herbaceous perennials with different leaf and flower shapes for an enchanting display. Here purple alliums provide an accent to the pink hues of Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’, Lamprocapnos spectabilis (also known as dicentra) and Silene flos-cuculi

Create a white bed: Here the variegated leaves of a hosta are echoed by a white bleeding heart Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’ (also known as dicentra)

A big hand: choose statuary to bring year-round form and, on occasion, humour to the garden

Use architectural plants to create an impact: a lofty cardoon adds height to the back of the ‘long border’, while the bold-red flowers of a peony are eye catching

Plant wisteria close to a building to enjoy generous cascades of fragrant flowers in late spring, although be prepared to prune it twice a year

Combine plants with differently shaped flowers for a display that really stands out. Here alliums, Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ and bleeding heart Lamprocapnos spectabilis (also known as dicentra) bring different qualities to a border

Make room for a water feature. This tall vertical water wall within a ‘white bed’ brings the sound and sight of water without taking up much space

Turn a vegetable garden into a feature in its own right by creating beds lined with low box hedges

Create vertical growing space for attractive climbers. These wooden arches support honeysuckle and a Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Add extra interest to a terrace with collections of potted plants. Here pelargonium, lavender, miniature agapanthus and a tender Aeonium arboretum create an attractive ensemble

Make the most of a sun-baked spot with plants suited to a more Mediterranean climate, such as rock rose (cistus) and rosemary. Southernwood Artemisia abrotanum is repeat planted so that its fragrant leaves can be enjoyed from this elegant Lutyens bench

Plant fragrant flowers close to seating. Here, those sitting on this square-cornered outdoor sofa can enjoy the perfume of wall flowers, growing around the architectural leaves of an Acanthus mollis

Choose shrubs and conifers that provide strong colour throughout the year, such as Euonymus ‘Silver Queen’ and golden yew, along with those like rock rose (cistus) that look spectacular at certain times

Accent a colour: Here the globe-like flowers of allium pick up on the purple flowers of the wisteria climbing around the house