Southlands Lodge

About Southlands Lodge

The Garden at Southlands Lodge
Designed to enhance and relate to Southlands Lodge, a neo-classical gatehouse, the garden comprises distinct ‘rooms”, defined by hedging, that are accessed both from the house and the garden. Starting at the drive a winding gravel Entrance Walk passes through a grove of silver birches underplanted with geranium and spring bulbs leads to the Front Terrace. Here a cluster of seasonally planted pots add ‘punctuation’. The Entrance Walk planting continues past the front door to the Exotic Corner that features plants chosen for their leaf shape and texture: ferns, a palm, magnolia, bamboo, false casteroil plant thrive. One then has sight of the Formal Front, the now unused main entrance to the Lodge. The formality is expressed in the layout; a regular grid of pencil Cyprus pines, box hedging and a potted camelia. The original front door, now unused, is guarded by two bee hives which face imaginary visitors. This quiet area introduces the Apiary Cherry Orchard. Here 18 productive fruit trees in a regular 3 x 6 grid contain a working apiary of 8 additional hives. The orchard trees are underplanted with spring bulbs naturalised in the grass. The orchard opens onto The Lawn that borrows wide views from the surrounding fields. Espaliered apple and pear trees separate garden from open agricultural farmland. The North Terrace, accentuated with planters, protrudes into the lawn, the largest area of the garden that also contains a line of sculptured heads by a local artist set atop of lime-washed plinths. The lawn is edged on its southern side by the Long Axis Walk, bounded by an ancient hawthorn hedge, which runs the length of the garden and directs ones attention through an apple tunnel to the sheep paddocks. A collection of hellebores, ferns, hostas and Solomon’s seal cascade onto the path which leads to the Enclosed Vegetable Garden and beyond. Here in the productive heart of the garden, 12 raised beds, a greenhouse and a cutting border provide for the house. Wild plants and flowers are left to provide a varied source of pollen and nectar for the bees. The Old Orchard is on a path which forms a cross axis connecting the vegetable garden to the entrance. With its mixture of mature and juvenile fruit trees the Old Orchard is all that remains of the original cottager garden. It is accessed through an arch formed in the ancient hawthorn and leads the visitor to the Sunken Western Lawn. The circuit of the house has been completed and one concludes the visit in this the most formal part of the garden. Here a manicured Western Lawn compliments a herbaceous border that is enjoyed by visitors to the living room Terrace which is also accessed by the 3 sets of French doors of the main reception room of Southlands Lodge. Time for a cup of tea.
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Features inc a working apiary of 10 beehives, an insect hotel, and Cayuga ducks and guinea fowl roam freely through the property. Home-made teas can be available, cake will be gluten free and contain honey, nuts and dairy. Sorry, no WC facilities.