Spanning midwinter’s austerity to high summer’s largesse, this beautiful country garden delights whatever the time of year
With the changing of the seasons, the garden views from Down House shift gradually, from spring’s leafy radiance to a summery haze of cow parsley, scrambling roses and abundance. In autumn, attention moves from fruit and flower to fiery foliage; then, as the year winds down, the bones of the garden are laid bare. ‘Not everything can peak at the same time – nature doesn’t work like that – but here there is always something that looks lovely,’ explains Mark Porter who, with his wife Jackie, has lovingly created this garden.
By midwinter, hidden depths are revealed by a low sun that dances from tree to plant, illuminating enclosed spaces, and silhouetting clipped shapes against a chilly blue sky. ‘There is an interplay of light and shade within different “rooms” that makes the garden deeply atmospheric in winter,’ says Mark.
The garden is rarely lovelier than when dusted in frost and backlit by an emerging sun. ‘We planted it to create structure and height to cast the long shadows that create such impact in winter,’ he adds. Later, as the potager’s geometry is highlighted and water droplets sparkle above a fountain, any leaves still clinging to the pleached hornbeam hedges take on a golden glow.
It is almost 23 years since Mark and Jackie, a local County Councillor, moved to Itchen Abbas in Hampshire, unable to resist the glorious landscape coupled with the potential offered by the rundown house and its garden. ‘We are both keen gardeners, and the prospect of creating a large garden from scratch – and then see it reach maturity – was very exciting,’ explains Mark who, since retiring, has become a Vice President for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and chairman of Britain in Bloom. ‘This is my second career, encouraging people to garden for their physical and mental wellbeing, and creating a community spirit through horticulture,’ he says.
It was, however, his early career as a structural engineer that Mark drew on in order to produce scale drawings before each stage of the garden’s development. From the outset, the couple were inspired by Thomas Mawson, author of The Art and Craft of Garden Making, and his emphasis on proportion and vistas. ‘We took his advice on creating well-balanced proportions by, for example, ensuring the width of a terrace is the same measurement as the height of the eaves of the house,’ he explains.
Another idea they adopted is the use of long sight lines to direct the eye through different garden rooms and l
