We got a message the other day from a relative of one of the people who used to live in our house. Her gran lived here as a schoolgirl before going to art college. We knew about Margaret as we had her wedding details. But I didn’t know that she went to Art School at the same time as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. According to her grandaughter her grandma knew Barbara Hepworth well, as they were at college together. Her Grandma went on to teach art in Harrogate. She died in 1993 aged 87. I think they might have known the Hepworths very well as Barbara’s father was also a Civil engineer in Wa ..read more

Jack the lad a story of the 20th Century Here is the story of one of the previous owners of Penraevon. He is Jack Foreman and lived here with his wife Sadie Foreman. If you are related to them or knew them I would love to hear from you (and I apologise for any mistakes or mistaken identities). Why the interest in Jack and Sadie? Jack and Sadie sound like such modern names, they seem young and fun, a thoroughly modern couple. He is recorded as being a motor driver when he bought Penraevon in 1943. He bought the house for £1600 when the average house price in the UK was £835. This was during the ..read more

What is perennial garden design? It refers to a type of planting but also a way of ensuring your garden looks good all year and hopefully for years to come. It should please you and the wildlife by mimicing wild planting structures and species – it’s not wild but it looks wild – it’s wildish. This is written in the hope that it inspires you to grow things. We knew very little about plants and garden design a few years ago (and still have a lot to learn) – understanding that it’s a process, trial and error, visions and failures – until finally getting the right plant in the right place. The fac ..read more

So, as predicted the number of beds in the main garden has increased (see above). We’re now really aiming for this part of the garden to be mostly, well, garden and minimal lawns. It’s come along way from the equivalent post a year ago which ended with the first image in the slideshow below, but started with this one! Cutting out new beds is the perfect job to do in winter as long as it’s not too soggy as you end up with mud all over the lawn. I did all of this in January and February. I even got some Irish Yew, Cornus Midwinter Flame and some grasses in as well. The rest of the pla ..read more

It’s that time of the year when the sun is lower in the sky, the light becomes magical and spiders webs appear from nowhere, stretching between stems. It’s been a year of planting and growing and the late addition of a new water trough, just in time before we really crack on and make this garden minority lawn and majority plants. Here’s where we were this time last year: And here’s where we are now: It’s all a bit greener!…still too much lawn though. The front of the house is looking great now the climbing roses have climbed (only took them three years) The big front bed is ..read more

There is water coming through the living room ceiling! The plumber was called to investigate. The problem was that mice had nibbled their way through the shower flexible waste return. MICE! we have never had mice. Why were they eating our shower? They are getting up through the Butlers pantry and under the floor where it is nice and warm, the plumber told us as he replaced the pipe with a rodent proof one (why we didn’t have that in the first place is another question). We never had a Butler and nor did anyone else in the house but we do have a Butlers Pantry. (Should really be call ..read more

You know how it is, you are looking at Instagram, and up pops an advert. This one was for Linseed paint. I am intrigued by linseed, keep debating using it on our old quarry tiles. The linseed paint was for a company that produces paint from flax seed in Yorkshire (ooooh even more intrigued). I looked around on the web to see what people were saying about Linseed paint and I was surprised to find I was quite late to this party (country life – future of paint) . I wanted to join the party. Brouns and Co. was the name of the company so I dropped them a line to ask a few questions and watc ..read more

It is so wonderful to slowly begin to have some more established plants. Many experienced gardeners would look on with envy at our bare plot nothing but grass and mature trees, but we were a bit overwhelmed. Two years on and we are beginning to establish structure. The hoops were a great idea, they enable us to create our take on a walled secret garden. The end point is to have climbing roses around the arches and a shaped hedge on the other side. Foxgloves and climbing rosestwo climbing roses are covering the back 17m long wall we used Adelaide d’Orleans as it is almost evergreentr ..read more

Four and a bit years ago we moved into Penraevon. It was the middle of December and snow was threatening. We knew the house needed ‘a bit of renovation’, but also that it had a big garden that was just lawn, brambles and ropy old shrubs but with some magnificent trees. As you can see…a blank canvas that just needed a design. The first thing we did (above) was plant the Portuguese Laurel Hedge. On hindsight the first thing we should have done was get an outdoor tap and hosepipe then plant the hedge. A few replacement plants and it eventually worked. Back then, if you got the angle ri ..read more

Winter and early Spring is the perfect time for hard landscaping in the garden It maybe to cold to plant but it is the best time to re-asses the framework of the garden. We wanted to create a more substantial seating area and a path to join the front garden and the side garden. The style of garden is best described as modern Arts and Crafts it is aysmetric and relaxed rather than structured and formal. We do now have some significant structural elements such as giant hoop railings but it was different when we first moved in. The garden was just a vast space of grass. We have put in ..read more