The garden was a wilderness when we arrived in 1990, so everything in the garden has been planted since this date. We are pleased to see areas of light and shade now well established.

The hedge at the front of the property has been ‘laid’ in the Sussex style – this is a traditional method of weaving the plants forming a hedge to make it ‘stock proof’ – it is never ripped apart by tractor trimmers like most hedges in this country. As a result, it is thick, round and provides good cover for wildlife.

In the summer, the hawthorn hedge at the rear of the property reverberates with birdsong at dusk – quite deafening for a while!

We try to garden ‘organically’ but our biggest enemies are slugs and snails. We leave certain areas wild to provide habitat and food sources for wildlife. We certainly don’t aim to have a ‘sterile’ show garden.

The vegetable garden is housed in its own area, with a hedge to provide extra protection, and we have created ‘raised beds’ as the soil is pure clay and a nightmare to use! We add manure from the farm, together with compost from the garden bins, to improve the quality of the soil. You will see comfrey growing – the leaves can be composted to provide a rich source of nutrients, particularly potash.

The garden was a wilderness when we arrived in 1990, so everything in the garden has been planted since this date. We are pleased to see areas of light and shade now well established.

The hedge at the front of the property has been ‘laid’ in the Sussex style – this is a traditional method of weaving the plants forming a hedge to make it ‘stock proof’ – it is never ripped apart by tractor trimmers like most hedges in this country. As a result, it is thick, round and provides good cover for wildlife.

There are a range of fruit trees in the garden, with pears, apples, damsons and plums. In the spring, it is a great privilege to see bullfinches eating the blossom – it means no fruit but there is plenty to go round – these birds are quite rare nowadays as fruit farmers used to persecute them. The males have very bright plumage.

We also have a gooseberry bush, three blueberry bushes and a very young crab apple. You will also find a variety of herbs, including thyme, comfrey, sage, lemon balm, basil, chives, and marjoram. There are three Rowan trees which have lots of red berries in the summer – they never survive until the autumn as they are rapidly stripped by the blackbirds!

In the vegetable garden you will find strawberry plants, asparagus, onions, garlic, potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes.

An interesting feature is the ‘living screen’ of willow that has been designed to provide privacy for guests. The willow has to be woven and kept well trimmed but it has proven very effective and a lot nicer than any man made construction.

Mammals in the garden

Foxes can be seen wandering through the garden at anytime of the day, and we leave a plate of dog food out at night for the fox. Sometimes he or she makes a terrible cry when eating – really eerie. Some years the fox will bring its cubs with it.

One year we were thrilled to see a Magpie pulling at the tail of the fox when it was eating, and chattering as if to tell it to get away from the food! The fox just ignored it.
We have also been told by guests that they have seen the cats playing with young foxes at night – the cats certainly do not seem afraid of the fox.

Badgers have been occasional visitors to the garden, digging for food beneath the bird table.

A grey squirrel now visits daily to eat the peanuts in the bird feeder.

Hedgehogs are also regular nocturnal visitors.

In the pond

There are newts and the odd frog in the pond. There are no tadpoles as the newts eat the frogspawn.

There is also a grass snake that cools off in the pond. Grass snakes feed on the tadpoles, and frogs, as well as fish, newts, and occasionally mice and small birds. Most hunting is done underwater, and prey is typically swallowed alive.

Although grass snakes produce a venomous secretion that is toxic to small animals, they are harmless to humans.

Butterflies, dragon and damselflies are also in evidence.

Further afield

We keep the front hedge and the hedge opposite it low enough to give a view over the fields. The fields opposite are rented out on an annual basis, so some years there will be cattle in the field, and some years there will be sheep.

In the spring it is a delight to see and hear the lambs in the fields beyond, as they leap around and call out to each other.

Garden games

There are some large sized garden games that you can play on the grass in front of the Project. We hope that they will take some of you older ones back to your childhood days!

• Giant Pick up Sticks – you need a steady hand for this!
• Hi-tower – 58 solid wooden blocks stacked up, then you take it in turns to remove one piece and place it at the top of the tower without making it crash to the ground – again a game of nerve and steady hands.
• Giant Snakes and Ladders – hope you can stand on one leg.
• Giant chess – you will be able to contemplate your next move while relaxing on the loggia.
• Giant dominos.

The lawn has a Croquet pitch set out – try your hand at this game, which can be as competitive as you want it to be!

You can also play Boules - known as "Petanque" in France. This is because you play with your feet close together and joined feet in French is "pieds tanqués”.

Stoolball in Sussex

The common lore is that it began when a milk maid removed the legs from her milking stool and used it as a bat. Another stool was used as a wicket.

Although once popular, stoolball had largely died out by the early 1900’s. In 1917 a local Major resurrected the game in Sussex and it has been played ever since.

Today it is played almost exclusively in Sussex and is enjoyed by many teams across the county.

The wickets are wooden boards on stakes and the ball, aimed at the wicket, does not pitch. The bat is the shape of a table tennis bat, made of willow with a long, sprung and spliced handle.

Teams consist of 11 players either Ladies or Mixed.