The shared front garden of Rock and Cistus Cottage has always proved to be a challenge. Delabole is 723 feet above sea level and this together with the high winds of winter have provided tricky gardening conditions. We hoped to create a usable space that our guests could enjoy, while keeping the on-going maintenance to a minimum. Being keen gardeners and drawing on inspiration from some of our favourite Cornish gardens, like Trelissick, Trebah and Trewithen, we set about planning the new garden. The area is enclosed by a solid slate wall, which provides a degree of seclusion and we wanted a place to sit where you would be able to watch the world go by. To create this we decided to increase the patio area, making a more versatile space, construct a new central feature bed, with a long sweeping border following the curve of the wall. The patio was extended using completely recycled Delabole Slate.
The project took about six weeks, split across three lots of two weeks. We started in early January 2013, the weather was foggy and wet. This time was spent stripping out the existing plants and removing the unwanted beds. Tons of soil were removed by hand. Using wheelbarrows the soil was removed, wheeled round the side of the cottages, up the road, into the back garden. It was then hoisted, barrow by barrow, up a 4ft bank into the back garden, a truly exhausting task. The soil was then recycled and used to even out the lawn in the back garden of Cistus, where there was a distinct trench left from an old path that had once been there.
The April visit, saw bitterly cold temperatures and howling gales, but work continued, using the wall to shelter from the elements. July in contrast brought some fantastic weather and the project was completed in glorious sunshine. Wooden garden seats were positioned to get the best of the sun and the beds were planted up.
The plant selection consisted of foxgloves, hardy fucshias, Crinums, Festuca glauca, hollyhocks and flag Iris. Cornish palms and an Olive tree were also added to give structure to the beds. The garden will now grow and mature, providing changing interest through the seasons. The new design has given the illusion that the garden has doubled in size and is truly a garden to enjoy, we hope our guests will too.
Please play the slide show below to watch the garden take shape.
Please play the slide show below to watch the garden take shape.