| So will I build my altar in the fields And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be, And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields Shall be the incense I will yield to thee Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) |
The Old Vicarage, East Ruston
Started in 1990, here is a future classic garden in the making. Sheltered from the north-east Norfolk coastal weather on the north and east sides by shelter belts and double hedges (Photo 1), and based on its original planting of older trees, the owners Alan Gray and Graham Robeson have developed an exciting criss-cross of pathways (Photo 2), avenues, lawns and vistas around the old vicarage. A Mediterranean dry garden contains unusual plants. An adjacent meadow of carefully cultivated corncockle, wild cornflower and poppies (Photo 3) beside the local church is a delight in high summer. A distant church tower draws the eye along an avenue of apple trees, in fairy blossom in spring, with their ankles in blue catmint in summer. This is truly an exciting garden to which we can return and watch with interest as it matures.