Langford’s Open Gardens – part two

This is my second and final blog about Langford’s Open Gardens, which would have taken place as part of the National Garden Scheme last week, if it hadn’t been for the pandemic.

I covered four of the fabulous 24 gardens in last week’s blog. This week I’m going to serve up a further four. The first is The Crown. This was a pub when Mr F-W and I first moved to the village 27 years ago. Today it’s home to Dennis and Eva Evans.

The Crown

As with so many of Langford’s Open Gardens, the entrance to The Crown’s garden is a feast for the eyes. Once you get beyond the gate, it doesn’t disappoint.

You’re greeted by a riot of colour and shape. With box ball pots and geraniums marking the entrance.

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Beyond the gateway the Crown’s garden is a glorious mix of raised beds, pots, hidden paths and topiary, all making the absolute max of the space.

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You will often find statuary discretely deployed in Langford’s Open Gardens, but this handsome figure gives the tradition a dramatic twist. Dennis tells me they found it in the garden when they bought the house. What a find! When I showed Mr F-W this picture, a search on ebay quickly ensued, to see if we could find one like it! Sadly we couldn’t.

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The Barn

The Barn has taken part in Langford’s Open Gardens for many years and it’s easy to see why. Rachel Range’s garden offers a lovely mix of roses and colourful borders.

There’s a rose for everyone here – pinks, peaches, yellows, apricots and hot reds – and they all look incredibly healthy. Rachel must be dead-heading from dawn till dusk.

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As I leave the garden I think I spot the secret of its success, Rachel herself, back in the garden, working away…

Pember Cottage

Pember Cottage is a new participant in Langford’s Open Gardens and what a fantastic addition it is. It’s the home of Jo and Giles Edwards.

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The garden is a veritable feast of irises. These are inevtiably past their prime in June (earlier in the year they must have looked phenomenal!) However, even now their leaves provide great architectural form, complementing other ‘looser’ plants such as roses and Nepeta.

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There are also clever focal points in Pember Cottage’s garden such as a traditional stone seat, a handsome heron, simple planted pots and wooden screens.

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Lime Tree Cottage

I’m finishing my tour of some of Langford’s Open Gardens with Lime Tree Cottage – and it’s a beauty to end on. The garden wraps entirely around Diane and Michael Schultz’s home. So you can go round the garden in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. I tested both routes and can vouch -they are equally lovely!

As you turn right into the garden you are greeted by extensive box hedging, planted with roses. It provides the first of many lovely vistas.

Who wouldn’t want to sit on this seat and enjoy the view? However those who walk on through the archway are rewarded by sumptuous planting. A long and deep border full of vibrant planting…foxgloves, delphiniums, verbena and roses to name a very few.

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I particularly love this giant lemon colour scabious. Definitely want some for my garden.

A Kitchen Garden Too!

There’s also a kitchen garden at Lime Tree Cottage. It looks like something out of a classic Beatrix Potter book, well-kept but very ‘cottagey.’ I kept expecting to see Peter Rabbit stealing his way through it!! The approach to it is through a hops covered archway.

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As you pass this highly productive kitchen garden, which I gather is Diane’s domain, you see a lovely seating area next to the house and then, yet another more informal style of garden.

Diane and Michael have elected to let the grass grow, mowing just a simple pathway through it. It’s their first year, but in time they hope it will feature Yellow Rattle and other wildflowers. We’ve seen Monty Don doing this on Gardener’s World and I applaud them for equally doing their bit to encourage native wildflowers. Michael says they may also put a pond in this area.

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Langford’s Open Gardens – adieu

As with all 24 of Langford’s Open Gardens, you get the sense that Lime Tree Cottage is a constant work in progress. It is loved and lovingly tended …and it shows.

A big thank you to those who kindly let me meander around their gardens over the past two weeks. I hope this short tour (and last week’s) have given you a sense of how wonderful and diverse Langford’s Open Gardens are.

Here’s to a time when we can welcome you all to Langford in person.