£62.50 (Non JG member)
Overview
We went to Parsonage Farm in 2024 and it is stunning. We are revisiting at this more colourful time of year – oh and don’t miss the Giraffes! We enjoy Tea/Coffee on arrival. The garden’s design is based on an C18 concept of ferme ornee – or ornamental farm – with a large lake in a parkland style setting at the front of the house and more formal gardens behind with walks and vistas stretching out into the fields and woodlands. The garden is now reaching maturity as reflected in the many 12ft yew hedges which divide it into formal and informal areas planted with carefully chosen colour themes and unusual plants. Avenues are quite a feature – some trained as hedges, pleached allees, hedges on stilts, lollipops – and some in a more natural style such as the tulip tree avenue and hundreds of metres of Holm oaks planted through new woodlands, and underplanted with mahonia, which lead up to a grand grass amphitheatre. To reflect the history of the village there is fruit planted in almost every area of the garden including many heritage and unusual varieties and a ¾ acre fruit and vegetable garden with flowers for cutting. Recent developments include the yew cloisters with a statue of balancing stones and rides cut through the woodland. Please bring a packed lunch to eat on the coach. Then to Whithurst Park 10 mins up the road for about 14.00. Tea and cake available. The Walled Garden. The final layout divides the garden into four quarters, with a central pond and fountain, and includes a large Hartley Botanic greenhouse, beautifully kitted out potting sheds and an ingenious automated watering system. The beds at the heart of the two northern quadrants contain Jerusalem artichokes underplanted with strawberries — a nice touch — with quinces and strawberries for the southern ones. Crops are rotated through the four main growing beds and the walls are covered with fan-trained stone fruits. There are also a separate rose garden, parterre and cutting flower bed near the house.