Leaving the Long Borders, proceed under the cupola and tunnel, you enter the walled garden which is divided into three sections. The first is planted with old fashioned shrub roses which are trained over hoops to ensure the maximum flowering, interplanted with later flowering perennials and annuals. This is the way we tend to grow our roses rather than have a separate garden reserved exclusively for roses which have a relatively short season.

In the centre of this section on a double stepped plinth we have a spectacular summer display. The large central pot is planted with an enormous standard Fuchsia (F. Celia Smedley), 15 years old, surrounded by pots of pelargoniums, fuchsias and other tender bedding. In mid-season the large central pot cannot be seen for the fountain of flowers.

Moving on, under an arch of Climbing Rose ‘Maigold’ which blooms very prolifically early in the season and again later, we come to a much quieter area outside the old potting shed. This is a calm area comprising four quadrants of lawn surrounding a circular pond, together with two borders planted with Rosa ‘The Fairy’ edged with Box.