 | THE GARDENS AT WALKERS END AND No 2 FOSSIL COTTAGE 
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Over the garden gate into Walkers End | The elevated private upper lawn and deck at Walkers End, June 20009 |
Hattie is a professional gardener and so the gardens at Walkers End (and adjoining No 2 Fossil Cottages) are a particular feature and the aim is to create an imaginative design giving all year round interest in a very pretty, colourful and quirky cottage garden style. Parts of the garden are well established and as Walkers End is a relatively new venture some areas are quite 'young' with new borders and planting being added. Walkers End sits enveloped in its own quiet and established private hillside cottage garden.
The Herb garden in June and Tulipa 'Maytime' on the driveway in May
Hattie says, "Gardens are never finished, especially as I keep having new ideas for the garden to create an ideal place to squeeze in another plant! I'm very excited about developing the different spaces.
Iris reticulata 'Harmony' flowering in Spring one of the seasonally-planted troughs
The latest part of the garden we transformed was our productive garden, which adjoins Walkers End's garden and consists of a formal layout of 4 three metre by one and a half metre raised beds, and a small greenhouse reinstated from another part of the garden. It is a challenging site, on a slope and with a little too much overhanging shade from neighbouring ash trees which we can do little about, so we have experimented with differnet crops and found the salad and leaf vegetables do best.
The productive garden, adjacent to Walkers End's garden
We also built a bank of 3 good sized compost bins in one corner so we can seriously compost almost all of the garden waste. The soil here is quite poor and very stony and needs a good amount of organic matter to improve it. Without raising the soil quality, I won't produce the makings for a great garden".
Off road parking is provided on Number 2's driveway. Walkers End is then approached via steps into the shared flower and foliage filled courtyard. A pathway round the back of the cottage leads to the kitchen stable door which opens out onto a leafy fern and ivy covered bank.
Steps lead into the shared courtyard,
Walkers End is the property on the left
A pathway leads to the front door of the cottage, which opens directly onto a small south facing terrace with garden furniture, surrounded by a fragrant herb garden. This overlooks a sloping lawn, very colourful in late spring, with a mixed shrub and herbaceous border and has a wonderful view across undulating Herefordshire countryside.
The front lawn and border, in summer and autumn
View of the garden from the Main Bedroom in October
To the side further steps lead up to a small, private south-west facing lawn and decked area, which has a jasmine-covered seating arbour. This is bordered by a deep lavender bank and planted with cottage garden favourites. From here there are long reaching views all the way to The Blorenge in the Black Mountains in Wales and across to Hay Bluff. This is the perfect area to sunbathe or barbeque or watch the sun go down!
A pathway through the adjoining No 2 garden leads to a lockable storage shed, useful for bikes etc.
If required (and for bikes or pushchairs or bringing your luggage across) additional level pedestrian access to Walkers End can be gained via a pathway across the gardens of No 1 and No 2 from Fossil Bank.
View from the front door in June
All photos © Andrew Walker 2007/08