About 3 St Peters Street
The garden was established in 2021 and has been relatively low-maintenance, starting with extensive digging, flint-removal, addition of topsoil and well-stored manure from the local pony. The house and garden is on a chalk and rubble layer, not very far down, so plants have to find their own way. Mulch from hot-bin kitchen and garden compost is used as strategic top-dressing. Propagation from seed and division is used to spread plants that feel at home here, such as Verbena bonariensis, Campanulas, Viola cornuta, Sedum, Brunnera, Cosmos, hardy geraniums and Violas, with a minimum of summer bedding plants and maximum encouragement of chance, such as with borage and morning glory.
A small south-facing bed by the garden-room window is ideal for low-growing forms of succulents such as Aeonium and Echeverria. The micro-climate and perhaps climate change allow dahlias and cannas to survive in the ground through most winters. A south-facing narrow but sunny terrace houses Agapanthus, Cestrum, Cannas, Asclepias in pots to give a semi-tropical feel, with a narrow raspberry and herb bed contrasting.
The main beds are not big enough for full-size fruit trees but a selection of self-fertile patio and semi-dwarf fruit trees was planted in 2024 and has begun to fruit. The two fences support a range of wall shrubs and climbers. The aim, with different sitting-out places and views, has been to show the variety of plant forms that even a small garden can support and hopefully encourage visitors to experiment with their own gardens. The flower square round the adjacent War Memorial is also managed from No. 3 but the aim here is not to duplicate what can be seen at home.
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