The only straight lines are the raised beds and pergola, inspired by the idea of a cloister

The garden is laid out along a slope. “In the wild you find the broadleaf vegetation at the bottom of valleys,” Keith explains. “And as you ascend, the leaf size gets smaller, you find birches and pines for example.” At Wildside, herbaceous plants are located at the bottom of the garden, and as you move to the higher areas, the vegetation changes, with birch and pines dominating the scene. This planting style increases the awareness of altitude and amplifies a sense of naturalness as you move through the garden.

The lush, lower end of the garden is home to 80 magnolias, mainly planted in tight groups to create a multi-trunk coppice. They are underplanted with swathes of bulbs, starting with snowdrops in February and followed by erythroniums, which flower at the same time as the magnolias. The inspiration here is the ecology of hazel coppice and bluebell woodlands often found in the east of England, but with a distinct garden twist. Herbaceous elements come later and include rodgersias, irises, primulas, campanulas and ferns. In the open areas around the pools, dreamy combinations of summer-flowering perennials flourish. Nearby alpines make a patchwork, through which rhodohypoxis, dianthus and pulsatillas self-seed. Shape is important: acers, magnolias, free-standing wisterias and apple trees echo one another in form while creating a strong thread that holds everything together.

The garden is laid out more formally near the house. The only straight lines in the garden are raised beds

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This page Planting is more formal in the Courtyard Garden, with stands of Potentilla recta ‘Warrenii’, Hebe ochracea ‘James Stirling’ and Eryngium x zabellii among cheerful ox-eye daisies ( Leucanthemum vulgare). Facing page The floriferous, single, red Rosa ‘Dortmund’ climbs through the pergola. Self-seeding dieramas thrive among pink Diascia fetcaniensis, frothy Stipa tenuissima and tall lily stems and buds.