Waves of plants in pastel shades draw visitors through the late spring garden at The Old Rectory, immersing them in a confection of colours, shapes and textures, set to the soundtrack of pollinators humming a soothing refrain. Framed on one side by St Peter’s church, the four-acre garden combines traditional elements with more contemporary naturalistic planting that ebbs and flows through the space.
Owner Jo Hoy has been developing the garden for close to 50 years. She and her husband Geoff bought the property in 1978, just before the birth of their first child. “The garden was smaller then – just over an acre – with few plants but some magnificent trees, including oak, horse chestnut, copper beech and a large mulberry, all of which are still thriving,” she says.
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A few years later, the couple bought the meadow next door, offering Jo a wider canvas for her planting designs and her children space for their ponies. “Inspired by John Brookes’ and Beth Chatto’s gardens, I made a series of large island beds, laying out hosepipes to create flowing shapes, with grass paths in between. I wanted the garden to feel like a walk through the countryside, with long vistas leading you through it,” she explains. “But I never sat down with a pen and paper and drew a plan.”
Jo was ahead of her time, and the combination of self-seeded natives and non-native pollen-rich plants ticks all the biodiversity boxes that designers today strive to achieve. Her approach conveys a feeling of ebullience and joy as soon as you enter the garden via the gravel drive. Swathes of bulbs and perennials embrace the house, while a small pond creates a focal point in front of the kitchen. The planting here guides the eye up a level towards an avenue of domed box topiaries, known as the Millennium Walk, created in 2000.
I really don’t know what I would do without my garden. It is my happy place.
A path to the left, flanked by Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’, bearded iris, nepetas, geraniums and self-seeded red campion, takes you up to the sun terrace and, from there, between two variegated box balls to the greenhouse and potting area. “I use this space for propagation and to grow some fruit, including raspberries, currants and gooseberries, in the beds opposite,” says Jo. “To lead the eye to the sundial and thyme circle, I’ve edged the path with deep-purple bearded iris.”
The garden then opens onto a lawn and a spectacular wisteria draped over an iron pergola, made by a local craftsman. From here, you can stroll back through the Millennium Walk to the house or move on past a group of birches towards a plant-covered folly. “I love trees, and have planted many over the years, including the wedding cake tree, Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’, and the beautiful birches, Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii and pink-stemmed Betula ‘Fascination’.” The birches frame three sculptures of wise old owls and one of many benches offering viewing points throughout the garden.
When looking for a prop for her rambling roses and clematis, Jo bought a Gothic ruin folly, which echoes the architecture of the historic church and marks the end of the garden. Clouds of frothy cow parsley weave among the folly’s arches, the self-seeded plants sprinkling the garden with their heads of starry white flowers.
I wanted the garden to feel like a walk through the countryside, with long vistas leading you through it.
Walking back towards the house along sinuous grass paths edged with pink lupins, red poppies, and more alliums and irises, you pass through a wooden gate to the meadow. “I’ve made the old pony pasture into this wildflower meadow simply by leaving the grass to grow, and more recently added an avenue of Prunus ‘Shōgetsu’ cherry trees to offer additional food for the pollinators in spring,” says Jo.
Returning to the garden through the Millennium Walk, mature trees to the south side create a woodland habitat, the floor decorated with ferns, hellebores, geraniums and other shade-lovers. A small terrace next to the conservatory catches the afternoon sun and looks out over the lawn to yet more richly planted borders, while the house walls are adorned with blue-flowered ceanothus, wisteria, climbing hydrangea and Rosa ‘Mermaid’.
Visitors are also greeted with the sweet scent of a large philadelphus close to the front door. “I try to keep the interest going throughout the year,” says Jo, “starting in January with hellebores and thousands of snowdrops, followed by tulips and other spring bulbs, and then the alliums and irises. Roses, geraniums, daylilies, asters and other perennials take over the show in summer, and the trees then provide spectacular colour in autumn.”
Remarkably, Jo tends most of the garden herself, with just a little help mowing lawns and cutting the yew hedges, but she remains modest about her gardening prowess. “I’ve almost surprised myself,” she says. “I have a few regrets, of course – planting mint in the ground, which now pops up everywhere, and creating structure with box that has now fallen prey to moth caterpillar and blight – but on the whole, the design works well. I really don’t know what I would do without my garden. It is my happy place.”
USEFUL INFORMATION
Address The Old Rectory, Wrestlingworth, Church Lane, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2EU. Tel 07745 848310. Open For the National Garden Scheme on 10 and 17 May, 2-5pm (and by arrangement, May to June). Admission £8. ngs.org.uk
