Over 30 years ago, Bryan built his first walled garden in Linby, a quaint little village north of Nottingham. Since then he has created several gardens in Guernsey and another on Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. As soon as we bought Stoke Hall in 2000, Bryan drew up plans for his most ambitious garden to date: The Secret Garden at Stoke Hall. The Secret Garden is a walled garden, hidden
from view and enclosed on all four sides by the Hall, the rear walls of the conservatory, the high walls of the Carriage Court and a new 16ft tall wall which follows the original foundations of a row of ancient cottages and farm buildings. Oswald, from the 1135 hospice that stood on the same site, still survives, set into one of the walls facing into The Secret Garden. A series of circular stone patios, each at different levels, are linked by paths, stairways and hidden walkways. The enchanting Secret Garden with its exotic plants, palm trees, bamboos and central fountain create an atmosphere of calm and tranquility; the perfect place to relax and unwind. Those plants that haven’t been grown from seed were sourced from Architectural Plants in Bristol, Beth Chatto Gardens in Elmstead Market and Great Dixter, the late Christopher Lloyd’s garden in East Sussex. Sadly, over the last decade Bryan’s health deteriorated to the point where he could no longer maintain the gardens and was reluctant to allow anyone else to help. The gardens, especially the Secret Garden, gradually became over grown jungles with nettles, thistles, thorns and self seeded trees taking over. The exotic flowers had no chance of seeing sunlight and withered away. Early in 2020 I decided that I could no longer live in the jungle and along with Harry, set about restoring our gardens. For the first year it wasn’t a labour of love. But 18 months later I’m loving every new flower that emerges. Olivier worked here almost constantly through the winter, Nigel joined us in the spring to repair paving, stonework and walls, and Naomi took up a permanent post as Assistant Gardener in June. We’ve still have a lot more to do. And for some inexplicable reason, I’ve decided to create a long border in the style of Christopher Lloyd and Great Dixter! Hope you enjoy looking at our endeavours.