The Rectory at South Stoke

The Rectory at South Stoke

There, in the heart of the hamlet, is a garden of a thousand parts, and each unique and intensely beautiful.  The vegetable garden is enchanting.  Rows of herbs as pretty as they must taste, an asparagus bed running as a dry rill through the centre of the space – and then there is the flower garden!

Roses of every colour, sculpture serene in the borders, everything blooming and everything lovely.  A maze has been created under a great holm oak, a delicious wooden child’s swinging chair hanging from the branches.

In another part of the garden, a 350 year old box hedge has been hand clipped by Jake Hobson, trained in the Japanese tradition and founder of “Niwaki” garden tools, so that the natural shape of the underlying branches is revealed and something very special has been created out of these ancient trees.

This is a Rectory garden and, as Teresa told us, legend has it that these gardens must include a black mulberry, a quince and a medlar.  The mulberry (which still bears fruit!) was probably planted when the house was built in the mid 1700s, the quince and the medlar were planted by William and Teresa, the quince already bearing fruit.

Teresa comes from a family of artists and it shows.  The sculpture, the child’s swing designed and made by Johnny Woodford, the great works dreamt up by Matt Bodimeade; all these are welcomed and loved so that everything comes together in perfect harmony.

And that is before we venture out of a delicious gate designed by Teresa’s brother, Paul Jobst, into fairyland!  A wildlife pond has been created in the meadow; surrounded by wild flowers and with water lilies blooming, burgeoning groups of aquatic creatures have made this their home.  White pebbles surround the pond and we feel as if we are on an enchanted beach!

What a day!