Kinrara

About Kinrara

FRONT garden – opened as part of Hayton Village Group – a riot of colour in spring from Azaleas, Camellias, Wisteria, bulbs and Roses, etc which then matures to accents amongst the tall, dense, mainly evergreen planting with exotic touches from Bananas, Cannas, Tropaeolum, Kiwi, Taro etc. New conservatory has encouraged the Cannas to flower & hosts a fine fruiting Passion Flower et al. Maintenance is low apart from pruning – no space for weeds! Narrow uneven steps, & care needed not to step on the frogs! BACK garden – not open under the village group or every year but may open as a Pop Up. Principally the vision of Tim’s architectural imagination, the back garden was envisaged as a Jungle. After a lot of hard work, several tons of rock & cow manure, Tim’s artistry & Alison’s botanical background, the garden boasts a wide diversity of architectural plants featuring varied texture & leaf size, creeping & scrambling over a series of twisting paths. The focal point is a series of four ponds cascading through the garden creating a small gorge. Backbone planting is a Photinia-Fatsia-bamboo forest, integrated with pre-existing canopy-lifted conifers & mature shrubs. There are accents of anything else we have searched out for dramatic impact such as Gunnera, Foxglove Trees, Schefflera, Rhododendron macabeanum, old Pieris & Arisaema ‘Numbuq’. The Tree Ferns succumbed to a recent bad winter but remain as reminders of past glory. There are several stands of Bamboo & a couple of “Bamboo tunnels”. There are no flower beds as such, but we have incorporated highlights of hot colours from Red Hot Pokers, Tropaeolum, Clematis, Red Bananas & Dahlias, etc. The dense, largely evergreen, planting also encourages many nesting birds & insects, plus fish & frogs in the ponds. There is a new terrace and pergola, far too many pots & a new greenhouse. Tim’s Aeonium collection increases annually!
There are several sitting areas to catch the sun at different times of the day/year.
Hidden at the bottom of the garden, down some steep steps, is the vegetable garden, begun in 2021. Beds are raised to 1m to catch more sun for longer on the north facing slope. We plan to put a list of the named plants for sale on the Facebook page if Alison is organised enough. Accessibility for the less able is v limited & for wheelchairs almost nil. The paths are narrow & winding with very uneven steps and you will have to wind, brush past and duck through the vegetation so if it’s wet bring appropriate gear but no brollies please.
Sorry, we cannot accommodate dogs, and, owing to the hazards of water and potentially toxic plants, the gardens are not suitable for small children .

.