23 Cotton End

About 23 Cotton End

As you turn into the drive, the vegetable garden, with small greenhouse, is to your right. This varies annually, but usually contains tomatoes, corn, potatoes, salad crops, cut flowers, strawberries and pears. There is also a quince tree, though yet to produce any fruit!
Along the front of the house is a long herbaceous border, laid mainly to herbaceous perennials, with roses and clematis along the front of the cream painted cottage. Entry to the main part of the garden is through the oak porch and gate. This leads directly to a paved patio seating area, with raised fish pond. Beyond this is the small orchard, set into two circularoverlapping lawns. Along both sides are flower/shrub borders. To the right, the view is over the fields. There are seating arbours on both sides.
As you approach the large greenhouse, you go around a corner and are now facing a roundel with flower beds around two sides. On the left is a raised seating area with ferns and further tropical plants, such as bananas, strelitzia, alocasia and cannas. On the right, a tropical bed with bananas, cannas, tree ferns, tetrapanax, colocasia, tree dahlia and various other more exotic plants, taking advantage of a natural suntrap area of the garden.
Going through a rose arch, the next area is a woodland walk. Recently trimmed hedging has opened this area up and allowed a wide range of plants to flourish. Grasses are on the left and more shade loving ferns, angellicas, epimediums, etc., are to be found on the right. A wooden fence conceals compost bins and storage.
Following the winding path brings you to a further seating area, looking over the wildlife pond. Around this is geranium, iris, white willowherb, rheum, angellica and cardoons. The last arch, through the beech hedge, leads to the ‘working’ part of the garden, with greenhouse, cold frame, and finally, the potting shed, by which is a fence with tayberry and thornless blackberry.