Bluebell Haze

Above: Bluebells

Spring sees a succession of floral and foliage delights. Young flowers and newly unfurled leaves usher a series of changes in the garden as days of warm, growing weather stretch out ahead of us. It is a season of sweet fragrances, colour and movement with its relentless eruption of renewal.

Terry and Betty Clarke’s charming woodland garden in Froxfield celebrates the spring with its wide collection of plants flourishing in the dappled shade. Designed to look very natural and blend into the surrounding countryside, it has actually taken years of hard work to create the effect. Both keen gardeners, they look forward each year to getting outdoors after winter. A special seasonal highlight is the chance to view their own private bluebell glade.
 
Bluebell’s beginnings
Aptly named Bluebell Cottage, this quintessential thatched cottage has a half-acre bluebell carpet to one side. When Terry and Betty bought their 200 year-old cottage in 1973, they had no idea that one day they would have their own bluebell wood in addition to the half-acre garden surrounding the house. In fact the garden was a very overgrown hillside and they spent years clearing it.

Priorities were planting some choice trees, establishing lawns and garden beds, creating a large wildlife-friendly pond and for Betty a very productive kitchen garden. They thought the half-acre was an ideal size for them, with plenty of scope to inspire their horticultural creativity. By 1991 they had tamed the space and transformed it into their ideal garden. Then the chance to double the garden came when the adjoining half-acre bluebell woodland became available to buy and they jumped at the fresh challenge.

Taming the wilds
The undergrowth was almost impenetrable with tangles of brambles underfoot and dense tree cover. Nature intervened when a huge storm felled some of the trees, thinning the canopy and the Clarkes continued the process by years of clearing to reveal the full splendour of the bluebells. “It needs to be a fairly controlled bit of wilderness or else it will revert to bramble thicket. However it is a great thing in the spring having a bit of bluebell wood there before it gets rather over shady through summer,” explains Terry.

Overall the total garden has been a challenging journey, enthusiastically undertaken, resulting in a fusion of natural and man-made elements. A very ‘hands-on’ couple, they tackled not only the clearing but also the excavation of a pond themselves. Using just shovels and a wheelbarrow they managed to dig through the heavy clay and flint soil. “There is so much stone to contend with, I reckon we’ve dug up enough flint over the years to build another house!” remembers Terry.
 
Grand designs
DIY skills extend beyond the process of gardening with Terry and Betty building their own conservatory, now filled with potted plants, as well as areas of hard landscaping, a summerhouse arbour and Monet-style bridge spanning a dry hollow.
Terry’s former career as a specialist architect’s model maker has come in handy for designing these many features, adding a unique touch to the landscape. Further creativity is expressed through sculpture, with his decorative pieces adding focal points amongst the planting, such as a streamlined bronze heron seemingly skimming across the pond above a cloud of irises.
When time allows, Terry and Betty enjoy a break at one of the many seating options dotted throughout the garden. “There are lots of seats in sun or shade to enjoy the views, including a recent belvedere platform we have built in the woods,” comments Terry.

Along with the human inhabitants and visitors the garden is a welcome haven for wildlife, with the gentle buzzing of bees, flitting butterflies, nesting birds and contented frogs and newts.
You will be sure of a warm welcome at Bluebell Cottage’s National Gardens Scheme opening. “It is very interesting to do. You meet a lot of people and find that they come looking for ideas. We enjoy talking to them, while the opening also makes money for charities. It’s a great thing,” Terry enthuses.

Open garden
Bluebell Cottage, Froxfield,
Petersfield
Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5
Opening times: 2-6pm
Cost: £2.50, children free