9 Tannsfield Drive

About 9 Tannsfield Drive

A member of the Hardy Plant Society once described this garden as “A large garden in a small space”.

The garden has evolved over 4 decades and can now be said to realise the owners’ aim of encouraging the visitor to ‘wander, discover, relax and enjoy’. By taking the narrow paths, each of which divides, thereby continually offering a choice of direction, the visitor will be able to find several different routes around the garden and come across the many features the garden has to offer.

There are five seating areas from where the visitor can take in views of the garden and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere created by the ever-present sound of ‘trickling’ water. The dense planting throughout, together with the water features, stone statues, metal sculptures, wall art and the use of mirrors ensure there is plenty to enjoy.

For description purposes the plot can be divided into four areas.

The Patio Section has a productive area, plants, shrubs and trees all contained in pots along with a seating area. There are four paths leading from the patio, each of which takes the visitor through the ‘front’ flower beds and under a pergola to the middle section of the garden.

The Front Section of the garden contains flower beds and a small garden shed, to the front of which is a gravelled area which includes a water feature.

To the right of The Middle Section of the garden there is a “tunnel” which has been created with the use of a clematis, a wisteria and a cotinus. The tunnel is bordered on one side by a planted shaded area which includes a small water feature and on the other side by the ‘central’ flower bed which also includes a water feature as well as 3 fruit trees in pots. To the left of the middle section there is a gravel area which is planted with decorative grasses and includes paving stones for ease of access. Two secluded seating areas give views across to the central flower bed and ‘tunnel’. The visitor can access the end section of the garden via three different paths.

The End Section of the garden contains some small changes in ground levels the biggest of which is 2 steps up/down (with a handrail) between the central area and the shaded, gravel “fernery” area to its left. There are 2 gravel areas (one on each side of the central paved area). Seating is available in each gravel area from which views across and diagonally back down the garden can be enjoyed. The visitor can cross from one planted gravel area to the other via the central “paved” section which links the two gravelled areas and contains flower beds, linked water features and stone statues.

Dense planting together with simple water features, stone statues, metal sculptures, wall art and mirrors can be seen throughout the garden. As a time and cost saving experiment all hanging baskets are planted with hardy perennials most of which are normally used for ground cover.