Two faces from the distant past give a Byzantine blessing. They can be seen at the church of St. Mary and St. Hardulph at Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire. Incidently Breedon on the Hill means hillhill on the hill, each new invader to the area adding their own word for hill. It is a very lovely hill.
The planting has just been completed on this garden. My client had recently completed the renovation of the house and commissioned me to take on the gardens. The building of the project was delayed by the bad winter weather and did not start on site until early March. The bulk of the plants are small, 9cm pots, as the depth of soil is variable, the bedrock being just below the surface in some places. The site, at 220' faces into the prevailing westerly wind. An existing roofless stone barn was conserved and incorporated into the design, the drystone walls repaired and a new one built to make a raised bed. The sawn stone paving makes a contrast with the rough drystone walls. The contractor has made a really excellent job of all the stonework, paving and joinery. The small parking area was extended, levelled and the tarmac was replaced with gravel made of crushed local quarry waste. The fencing and trellis is woven oak to slow the wind speed rather than solid fencing which creates turbulence. The planting of heaths, birches and purple moor grass is designed to echo the adjoining moorland. There is a woodland meadow under the mature sycamore and birch, of Melic grass, with Persicaria 'Firetail' and Geranium psilostemon. In the deeper shade sweet cicely and sweet woodruff. There is a separate herb garden and a more traditional rose border. A raised pond with fountain is built against the barn, and visible from the house.
