A green space

RED HOUSE, BEXLEYHEATH, DA6

IT was the apple, cherry and plum orchards that drew William Morris to Hog’s Hole— the hamlet in which he built his country retreat, Red House. Today, these orchards are long gone, swallowed up by ever-expanding suburbs, but an oasis-like garden and small orchard remains. A huge, rose-smothered tunnel bisects one side; elsewhere, there are cut-flower gardens, patches of wildflowers and a charming new Garden Snug, inspired by Morris’s own designs and those of his architect Philip Webb, framed by hawthorn hedges and hazel fence. Back in the orchard, head gardener Rob Smith works hard to propagate the trees.

Natasha Goodfellow is the author of ‘A London Floral’ and ‘A Cotswold Garden Companion’ (www.finchpublishing.co.uk)