About Milford Place
The house is approached by a gentle sloping gravel drive from the east, which opens the view to the multiple garden areas. ‘Strong Annabelle’ hydrangeas and ‘Desdemona’ roses complement its facade. Calm colour schemes surround the house, terrace and pool with ‘cottage’ garden plants such as nepetas, lavenders and roses. ‘Centranthus ruber’ Alba is a recurring theme; a popular plant which was introduced by William Robinson at nearby Gravetye. Olive trees are a dominant feature in the garden, some providing a soft windbreak from the woods beyond the paddock.
The garden itself has two main levels and is undulating; this has provided both a challenge and an opportunity. A gentle slope between them has been recently planted with a bank of shrubs.
The outer edges of the lawns have more established trees, rhododendrons and mixed hedges. Various shaped perennial beds have been created by the owners which provide interest in the lower lawn. The outer beds become more vibrant in colour including a mature azalea bed which was part of the original garden configuration. Some, such as the ‘shrubbery’ bed, have been replanted incorporating some of the original camellias and rhododendrons. These were radically pruned and then moved during the build, to accommodate the altered landscaping.
The ‘old rose bed’ is now a mixed herbaceous border and is supported by a rustic wooden pergola.
A newly planted orchard houses various fruit trees and adjoins the lane’s boundary hedge. Specimen trees include Catalpa bignonioides, a rather majestic ‘Robinia pseudoacacia’ and a variety of acers including a favourite, ‘Palmatum dissectum viridis’. The vegetable area was designed and built by the owners and sits on the original house plot; its backdrop is an older dry stone wall which was extended using stone from the original garden walls. The attenuation pond in the paddock provides a haven for wildlife.
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