Garden OF THE WEEK
Beneath a canopy of mature trees, a green-fingered couple have created a plant-packed, sheltered oasis
Gardeners Fiona and George Chancellor
Location Windy Ridge, Little Wenlock, Shropshire
Size Two thirds of an acre
Soil Clay
Been in garden Since 1995
Open for NGS on June 15–16 from noon to 5pm, admission £7, and for Wellington Open Gardens June 29–30, 11am–4pm, £12 for all gardens (tickets from eventbrite.co.uk)
Contact ngs.org.uk
Situated in one of the highest villages in Shropshire, Windy Ridge certainly lives up to its name. However, thanks to its thoughtful design and inspirational planting from owners Fiona and George Chancellor, it’s shielded from the worst of the winds by an abundance of tall trees and dense planting. “Seeing the trees develop and mature over the 40 years we’ve been here has been a delight,” says Fiona.
Their 1930s house sits right in the middle of the two front gardens, lying to the left and right of the drive and the back garden. Fiona, who previously worked as a garden designer for Notcutts, gave them an Arts and Crafts feel to complement the house. “The structure of the garden was key, with quite formal defined areas, which I’ve then filled with more informal planting,” she explains.
Both gardens sloped, so Fiona started by establishing a large natural pond and deck at the lowest point of the back garden. “We used cut and fill to level the slope and flatten the area around the pond. It was hard work but the planting is now really luxuriant and it’s a lovely spot to sit and relax on the focal point bench,” she says.
“While my children were young, I only tinkered with the garden, but then in 2001 we extended the house and while the builders and diggers were there, I decided to landscape the rest of the back garden. Different levels were cut, scraped and filled to give defined structural areas, accessed by flights of steps, which we then softened with big swathes of planting.”
They added many trees, which provide a lush green cocoon, sheltering visitors from the winds and camouflaging the surrounding houses, while evergreen foliage and flowering shrubs provide height and textural interest. The colourthemed herbaceous borders, packed with alliums, astrantias, geraniums and daylilies, are liberally laced with flamboyant hostas and feathery grasses. Pathways lead between the burgeoning beds and alongside
