Monty’s Longmeadow tour

ORCHARD BEDS

These have been widened to balance them better, creating about 25m2 of new planting space. I also plan to reorganise the whole area, simplifying it and drawing on the experience of what’s worked over the five years since the beds were dug.

ORCHARD

All of last year’s tulips – from pots in the Jewel Garden – have been replanted into the Orchard, as well as many more camassias and alliums. Rising above the grassy floor, the spring display should be spectacular!

NEW GREENHOUSE MOUND

Last year we built a summerhouse on the Mound and created fresh planting on either side, as well as replacing the front grassy slope with a steeply sloping border to make use of its drainage. So these new areas of planting will be fine-tuned and adjusted throughout the year.

The first full year of our new (actually secondhand) greenhouse gave the perfect conditions for our bumper crop of chillies and created a space for salads, 365 days of the year.

PARADISE GARDEN

Refining the planting last year – replacing a froth of stipa with the wispier pheasant grass – brought definition to the borders, while the replacement crab apples, ‘Evereste’, have thrived. The view from the ‘bus shelter’ down the long path to the fields beyond makes this a lovely place to be on a summer’s evening.