Surrey Homes | SH97 | February 2023 | Education Supplement inside

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Create a stunning affordable entrance All our canopies, heritage and contemporary, are manufactured by hand using traditional skills and traditional sustainable materials, all by our artisan workforce. Inspired by us manufacturing zinc and copper work for some of England’s most historic buildings. We are working in association with English Heritage to proudly present this officially licensed product. Porches, Verandas and Door Canopies You can contact us by email or call - we are happy to help. www.zac.ltd | 02039 576150 | info@zac.ltd
istockphoto.com/ Varvara Kurakina Patience is a Virtue Sue Whigham advises it’s worth taking your time to discover how your new garden grows as she contemplates the revamp of her son’s new outside space near Bath Having lived in a Brixton flat with a small but perfectly formed garden for a decade, my son and his wife made the big decision to move out of London last year. Over the years their garden had become absolutely full of mature plants, shrubs and a couple of trees. We hadn’t expected the olive tree to get so large to be honest or the crab apple to spread as it did. The latter might have been my mistake as I was going through a period of absolutely loving Malus transitoria which I still do – it’s a fabulous tree. The fences were painted a dark browny black which looked great draped with plants like the highly scented Trachleospermum jasminoides and R. ‘New Dawn’ and the raised beds filled up every summer with clouds of shrubby salvias and all manner of lovely things. There had been a large white hydrangea there when they arrived and we took half a dozen cuttings late last year, which seem to have taken and are now ready to grow on. And the raised beds, created using old railway sleepers which had begun to rot, had added interest as they became home to stag beetles who emerged into the garden in the summer to find a mate. It was wonderful to see them actually. The male has jaws which look like a stag’s antler, hence the name. And, like stags, they use their ‘antler’ jaws to fight other males for the females. London is apparently a national hotspot for stag beetles and considerable conservation work is being done to conserve their habitats. But despite having a tree-filled park a few streets away, the urge to have more space and fresh air worked its way to the top on the list of priorities. And having made an offer on the second house they viewed, the Brixton flat and its garden have been replaced by a property in a village just south of Bath. And what a journey that was with several months spent in Airbnb properties whilst the chain sorted itself out and fears that their mortgage provider would renege on their offer were resolved. So now they are the proud owners of a sloping (and boy, what a slope) garden of just under half an acre. Thankfully the area nearest to the house is quite big and, luckily, perfectly flat – but it is just getting there from where the cars are parked that is the problem. But perhaps one should not worry about that and just see it for the wonderful south facing views they have over rolling countryside. And of course the slope can be tamed one day with the help of a digger and some innovative landscaping. Project Number 20 most probably. So, picture a garden on a slope which has been well loved but is now in need of a bit of sorting out. Where do you start... I think the first thing to think of is not to rip everything out immediately. Wait until you have been there for a while and can see what appears in the spring that you like the look of. Also it’s an idea to check what sort of soil you have before planting anything. Have a look round to see what is thriving in other local gardens perhaps. In this case, the local houses, many of them listed, are built from local Bath Stone, an alkaline limestone. So no acid lovers here. Then think about the aspect of the garden. For instance the vegetable patch is not only on a slope at the back of the house but a good half of it gets a limited amount of sun – especially in the winter when the light levels are so low. It is pretty stony here too, but that’ll help with drainage. The weeds are happily growing away but as old carpets from the house have been ripped up already, some of them have been turned over to be used as weed suppressors. Luckily they were all fairly neutral colours so there haven’t been any comments from the village on their way to the pub next door. Something that might be worth doing whilst there is so much else to do in the garden would be to sow a green manure: a cover crop grown solely to improve the soil. The one that I would use would be Phacelia which, whilst acting as a soil improver, also looks very pretty with its blue flowers and the added bonus of being very attractive to beneficial insects. Actually, when you eventually dig the plant in to work its magic on the soil, it’s worth leaving a few clumps here and there for the insects. You can sow Phacelia from spring through to autumn and as it is particularly leafy, it helps prevent nutrients being leached out of the soil whilst also helping to smother weeds. The previous owners have left a few bits of this and that in this area. There’s rhubarb and Jerusalem artichokes up at the back – it is very hard to get rid of Jerusalem artichokes even if you wanted to – and surprisingly some of the herbs like sage and rosemary are perfectly happy even in quite a shady spot. I suppose the drainage suits them well. Don’t forget to take photographs of the borders as they are now. As nothing had been cut down in this garden, it has been quite easy to identify most things. I’m a great fan of the Picture This app. You have to pay for it but it seems to be better than most at identifying plants that you are having trouble recognising yourself. We’ve already spent a wet afternoon identifying umpteen exotic houseplants that have made the transition from South London to the West Country. Apparently there is a fabulous houseplant shop called Cornucopia somewhere on Streatham High Street which was difficult to walk past without being tempted. The border plants were easier to recognise without any problem but it’s obvious that some of them are either totally overgrown or 87 priceless-magazines.com
Page 1 and 2:
EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT inside Inspira
Page 3 and 4:
Come and visit our showroom: Bancro
Page 7 and 8:
shampangroup.co.uk shampangroup.co.
Page 9 and 10:
Contents February 2023 26 67 70 12
Page 11:
Editor’s Letter C O U N T Y C L O
Page 14 and 15:
House Month of the £8,950,000 Dami
Page 18 and 19:
Receive 50% off of your rent for 6
Page 20 and 21:
Life doesn’t have to be... In a s
Page 22 and 23:
S A N D O W N A N T I Q U E S H O M
Page 24 and 25:
Notebook Top spin Let’s go Be min
Page 26 and 27:
Where Artists & Art Lovers Meet Ori
Page 28 and 29:
priceless-magazines.com 26
Page 30 and 31:
Courage | Confidence | Character An
Page 32 and 33:
timothysoar.co.uk This page: A seri
Page 34 and 35:
WINTER SALE VISIT ONE OF OUR SUSSEX
Page 36 and 37:
This page: Doors on the landing ope
Page 38 and 39:
IMPROVE DON’T MOVE The current ch
Page 40 and 41:
This page: Camilla and Garry’s be
Page 42 and 43:
Clockwise from top: The contractors
Page 44 and 45:
CATHY Mc CLYMONT PAINTINGS 07763 52
Page 46 and 47:
FREE PICTURE VALUATIONS NO APPOINTM
Page 48 and 49:
Finding the light Words: Damien Pes
Page 50 and 51:
Transform your living space, with S
Page 52 and 53:
the years, he says, “This house i
Page 54 and 55:
D&S Wealden Times Ads 1-4 (Feb'18)_
Page 56 and 57:
This page: The spacious kitchen was
Page 58 and 59:
0% INTEREST FREE CREDIT AVAILABLE *
Page 60 and 61:
This page: Right at the top of the
Page 62 and 63:
ends soon. Tunbridge Wells . 70 Cal
Page 64 and 65:
Studio Open Days 2023 17 18 19 Febr
Page 66:
"Parents report how delighted they
Page 69 and 70: 11 7 Contents 30 4 BUSY BEES We get
Page 71 and 72: Tonbridge teams excel in internatio
Page 73 and 74: Education Supplement istockphoto.co
Page 75 and 76: Meet the Headmaster From chart-topp
Page 77 and 78: Pavel Malik, Assistant Head & Direc
Page 79 and 80: CO-EDUCATIONAL | AGES 4-18 SURREY &
Page 81 and 82: Education Supplement Go for it! Ash
Page 83 and 84: Education Supplement STRONGER TOGET
Page 85 and 86: Education Supplement Reed’s Schoo
Page 87: Help find their own superb Be anyth
Page 90 and 91: Don’t miss our next Education Sup
Page 92 and 93: Be Yourself at Claremont ...unless
Page 94 and 95: Mayfield AN INDEPENDENT DAY AND BOA
Page 96: Education Supplement The Balancing
Page 99 and 100: Sweet Disposition Candy coated trea
Page 101: UNIT 11 HART SHOPPING CENTRE FLEET
Page 104 and 105: Apple and Rhubarb Lattice Pie Prep
Page 106 and 107: Easy Fish Pie Prep time: 30 minutes
Page 108 and 109: leeping eauty Josephine Fairley rev
Page 110 and 111: Sleep Better : Feel Better dressing
Page 112 and 113: BALFOUR DINING CLUB MUSIC SESSIONS
Page 114 and 115: Don’t miss our Garden Supplement
Page 116 and 117: Design I Build I Planting A reputat
Page 120 and 121: HERITAGE SPECIALISTS BUILT ON REPUT
Page 122 and 123: Jane Howard looks forward to welcom
Page 124: Contemporary, reliable and expertly
show all

Surrey Homes | SH97 | February 2023 | Education Supplement inside

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?