Wealden Times | WT182 | April 2017 | Gardens supplement inside

This page: The new kitchen extension was built by Hurstway
Construction. The lamps on the sideboard (above) came from
one of the Wealden Times Fairs and the trough/planter in the
middle of the windowsill is from Capital to Coast in Cranbrook
new extension, built from reclaimed timbers and featuring
a vaulted ceiling, is a seamless addition. “A lot of this was
because of the grandchildren,” says Peter. “We realised,
once everyone was married, that we didn’t have enough
room for everyone to sit down and have breakfast together
or Christmas lunch.” As well as providing essential space,
it is also the perfect spot from which to view the garden.
The garden, though hard to do justice in words, is a
dreamy combination of mature lawns, magnificent topiary
and intimate spaces divided by box hedging and mosscovered
walls. It is clearly a labour of love, though Jane makes
light of this: “The topiary only really needs cutting once a
year,” she says. There is a pool area, protected by a low wall
and manicured hedge as well as a selection of timber-clad
outbuildings, with Kent peg title roofs. It’s the kind of garden
that just cries out to be explored – and it’s easy to imagine their
grandchildren running along the paths, squirting one another
with hose pipes and jumping into the swimming pool.
“We have done a lot of work on the garden,” says Jane.
“Although we had a few yew and beech hedges when we
arrived, we have planted many more. It’s been great fun
trying to put in some structure.” A love of gardening is
something the couple share with one another, but it is also
something they like to share with others, through their work
with local charity, the Gardening for Disabled Trust.
“We get so much pleasure from gardening ourselves it
makes you realise how awful it must be if you can’t do it
109 wealdentimes.co.uk