The large and mature, if overgrown, garden was a major factor in deciding to buy the Dell House.  We saw the opportunity to recover what clearly had been a magnificent garden, and to share it with others.  We have cleared vast quantities of ivy, bindweed, brambles and laurel; found and restored paths.  We have had major tree works carried out: felling dangerous trees; cutting out dead wood and scrub to give space and light for the remaining trees.  

November 2014

The area that is now a paved terrace was an uneven lawn and grass bank. In the 70s this had been a gravelled area with adjacent lawn, it seems that the grass encroached to entirely subsume the gravel, which explains some of the curious contours.  In the autumn of 2015 we had this area reworked, creating the paved terrace, beds, lawns and paved paths.  The structural planting was done in spring 2016. Several azaleas and rhododendrons have been rescued and now provide striking colour in spring.

Work in progress November 2015

June 2020 and the planting is getting established

The lower garden where the Wendy House is was 8ft deep in brambles and bindweed when we moved in.  A swing and climbing frame were hidden under the growth, as was the large fallen Poplar trunk.  We spent much of the first autumn clearing and planted the Silver Birch copse in 2015 and recovered the Wendy House.  We needed a digger to level the area. We are keeping this part of the garden more natural, and encouraging wildflowers. ​The latest addition is the wooden arbour Kevin built in 2023.  The ancient and generally disregarded Wisteria had finally flowered so we needed something to train it over.

The Lower garden in September 2014

The Wendy house in September 2014

Clearance well underway in November 2014

The lower garden in April 2020

The arbour in 2024

Early on, when clearing the garden, we discovered the gate leading to the area where the summerhouse used to be, looking down on what had been the croquet lawn (we found a hoop), later a tennis court (we eventually found the net).  The bank had collapsed, the corner of the area had been used as a rubbish Having cleared the area, we installed the retaining wall, created a base for a garden railway and restored a ‘grass rectangle’ to echo the history of this part of the garden. For more information go to railway. ​

The discovery of the gate in 2014

Excavating the tip and finding "George" in 2016

​The last area we tackled was the “Glade” in the corner above the garden railway.  ​Since early on we had intended to do something ‘ornamental’ with the glade, but it had become clear we needed to retain a ‘garden mess area’. So, in 2023 we hired a digger again, and Kevin shifted tons of soil to create a more level circular area. We now have a landscaped bonfire / mess area with a ‘wildlife wall’, made from all sorts of debris we’ve gathered from around the garden.  

Work in progress in the glade in March 2023

​A particular theme of the garden which has emerged is tree carvings.

For more photos of the garden now go to the Gallery