Gardens: guernsey

agreed to see some town houses. Of course, we fell in love with Grange Court as soon as we saw it’.

Built in the 19th century, the house dates back to a period known in St Peter Port as the ‘ big stink’. The smells of the tanneries and fisheries, and all the townsfolk working and living in close proximity without a sewer system, created a potent mix. Wealthy merchants fled the stenchridden town to build new homes just outside the boundary wall.

‘I always say that our home is a country house surrounded by town,’ says Pat, and you can see what he means. It is a beautiful colonial-style Georgian house, set in grounds with established trees, many of which date back to the original 1820s planting. Once you step foot into the garden, it’s hard to remember that it is set in the heart of a bustling port town.

All of the Johnson family were excited about moving to Grange Court, and the garden was earmarked for Pat as a project in which to sink his teeth. ‘ I like to describe the garden when we first moved here as if it hadn’t had a haircut for nine years,’ explains Pat. The trees and shrubs were in need of attention, and the borders had also suffered, with either spindly unhealthy specimens or huge gaps where herbaceous plants had died.

‘ If I’m honest, I completely underestimated the scale of the project,’ he says. ‘Not only from the point of view of the amount of work needed to regenerate the gardens, but also the implication of its sheer size.’ Replacing the roses in the rose bed required 450 plants, for example.

However, ignorance is bliss, and Pat started on the garden by digging up the weed-choked gravel paths that encircled the house and led to the glasshouse and rose beds. His idea was to lift the gravel and clean it so that he could reuse it. This job in itself was extremely labour-intensive, and took three months to complete. ‘Our gardener, Aart Van De Linden,