Rustic charm

Home to a pair of self-confessed plantaholics, this cottage garden in Hampshire puts on a delightful display of spring colour

A garden filled with spring colour

Jane and John Huxford needed endless imagination when they bought their cottage in the Hampshire village of Tufton in 1998. ‘And it was put to full use,’ recalls John. The former cowman’s cottage had been empty for 18 months, ‘and looked it. “Think of the potential” I was told,’ John smiles, ruefully.

Needing more space than their previous domestic garden in a cul-de-sac could offer them, Jane and John had been on the lookout for a more suitable plot in the countryside. A keen gardener, Jane had been growing plants to sell to friends and at car-boot sales, as well as making preserves and cakes from their productive beds, but she was ready to find bigger premises to more fully embrace her passion for plants. ‘It was difficult to find a modest house with enough land to suit our plans. Although a former farm cottage, No. 2 Church Cottages did not have an agricultural tie and came with four acres. A while later we bought a further 11 acres, which abuts the field we own,’ Jane explains.

The house had no central heating, the gardens were completely overrun, and the fields were more nettles than grass. There was only a large apple tree in the front, and a second in the back garden, although the couple had brought a lot of stock with them in readiness. ‘After seven years’ hard labour, we now boast a reasonable garden front and rear, paddocks fenced off and livestock,’ says John.

Their smallholding began with sheep, chickens and pigs, but now they just let out the grazing to friends, while the mainstay continues to be hardy plants and some annuals, grown in pots and nursery beds to sell at markets and plant fairs.

At the entrance to the garden, an old bicycle propped up against the fence and an equally whimsical sign on the gate immediately establish the impression of the rustic charm beyond. A path edged in fresh emerging greenery and dotted with spring colour from primroses, hyacinths, narcissi and tulips, guides you on and around to the back garden. Developing the garden from scratch has allowed the couple to achieve their aim of an array of plants to enjoy in each season. ‘From the front of our garden it appears rather small. Many of our visitors compare it to the Tardis, as from the back garden, the land opens out into areas planted up to give varied interest,’ Jane explains.

The back garden is slightly more formal, with structure provided by trellises clad in roses, neatly clipped buxus spheres and a central gravel garden punctuated with a striking urn and brimming with the decorative striped pink-orange Tulipa ‘Calypso’. Upcycled and recycled detailing abounds, from a rusty fish pond fashioned from an old water tank complete with hand pump, to antique buckets reimagined as planters.

The atmosphere is relaxed, befitting the quaint, modest home. Plantings of vibrant tulips in containers draw the eye, including brilliant red

T. praestans ‘Fusilier’, as do clumps of pretty primroses, deep blue muscari, nodding hellebores, dainty Lamprocapnos spectabilis and drifts of daffodils. Forming a backdrop to the scene are stands of bamboo and informal hedging. Little vignettes from sculptures and arrangements of terracotta pots complete the scene.

Journeying further through a gate in the hedge, you come to a productive garden protected by hedging, and the nursery area with greenhouses and row upon row of young plants the couple have propagated. From here, a second rustic gate leads out to an orchard and field with a wildlife pond and woodland walk. White narcissi glow among the long grass under a canopy of apple blossom, with the accompanying confetti of delicate translucent blossom making for an idyllic spring scene. Augmenting the vistas are groupings of snake’s head fritillaries, dainty cowslips and further naturalised daffodils.

‘Later in the season are further highlights from plants such as hardy geraniums, lupins, foxgloves, campanulas and roses through summer,’ explains Jane. There are also the brilliant colours of dahlias, salvias and tithonias, as well as the yellow rudbeckias. Beloved by the bees and butterflies, asters join the colour palette, joined by sedums and grasses. ‘All in a true cottage-style abundance.’