So Hidcote was lovely, but Bryan’s Ground was on another level entirely. The moment I clapped eyes on the first part of the garden – topiary with interspersed with lilies, lupins, foxgloves and tons of giant fennel, I knew it was something special. Naomi felt exactly the same.
This is a very personal garden, created by Simon Wheeler and Simon Dorrell over many years. It feels intimate, personal and wildly imaginative. Maybe a good way to describe it would be ‘controlled chaos’ – the layout of the garden is carefully thought out, with perfectly framed vistas at every turn, but it’s flamboyant, overgrown and heavily reliant on self-seeders. Even the topiary cones on the main lawn have hardy geraniums sprouting out of them them. There’s a real sense that the owners cherish it, nurture it – and let it do it’s own thing.
It’s shot straight into my mental list of my ‘Top 10 favourite gardens of all time’ – I must do a post on that someday…
*adds to own list*