‘It’s a managed landscape but it looks naturalistic'

Organic grower Jan Billington grows beautiful edible flowers for cakes, salads and events. She loves to visit the National Trust garden at Knightshayes, Devon. www. maddocksfarm organics.co.uk

I love the walled garden at Knightshayes. It’s the first place I visit every time I go; they grow a wealth of fruit and veg, something different every year. They not only supply the on-site restaurant but also sell the produce locally. The protective nature of the walls keeps things a little bit warmer than the surrounding area, so you get a sense of what other gardens will look like in a few weeks’ time – it’s like a glimpse into the future!

The areas of woodland are full of azaleas and rhododendrons but it’s the underplanting that’s really striking. The grass is full of cyclamen and fritillaries, it looks like a tapestry! It’s a managed landscape but it looks naturalistic, it’s really beautiful. It’s like visiting two places at once. The straight lines and beautiful horticulture that you get in the walled garden is juxtaposed with the free-form underplanting in the woodland.

The house is a huge, red-brick gothic building, but I have to confess, I’ve never been inside! It was built by Sir John HeathcoatAmory, whose family had a lace-making factory in Tiverton. Situated on the brow of the hill, he could look over his empire.

Like us, Knightshayes is certified organic and I’ve picked up some good ideas there. We always use companion planting and sacrificial planting along the beds and under substantial specimens such as climbing roses. Wild garlic and sweet woodruff shade the ground in summer while white clover fixes nitrogen. It’s a wonderful example of companion planting at its best.

You could easily lose yourself for an hour. There are a lot of little paths that do that snaking thing that roads do going up the alps, so the garden seems much bigger than it actually is. The house is quite ugly from the back, but you walk through the side gate and suddenly there are stunning views in front of you and there is a beautiful chaenomeles with red flowers trained up the building; it’s often covered in bees and is one of my favourite details.

■ National Trust Knightshayes, Bolham, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7RG; www.nationaltrust. org.uk/knightshayes.