The Old Rectory at Sullington

The Old Rectory

And then there was the joy of the garden at The Old Rectory!  Deep borders filled with tall perennials from which the Georgian house seemed miraculously to rise. Swathes of Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, great beds of a particularly elegant shade of blue agapanthus, endless borders full of flowers and grasses.

Pleached hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) provided structure and pathways through the garden, a grove of Himalayan birches (Betula utilis ‘Jacquemontii’) lit up a corner, pleached London plane trees (Platanus species) provided shelter by the pool, while elsewhere the bark of the Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula) shone in the sunlight.

And through all this wonder long vistas lead us past lawns and great flower beds one way, the beautiful kitchen garden the other. The orchard was weighed down with fruit and, across the meadow, a collapsing tree house was kept because a barn owl had made the place its home.

Jack Bryant, the Head Gardener, and his Assistant Gardener, Jen, could not have been kinder. They answered every question, they offered us apple juice made on the estate and Victoria plums from the orchard – and the tea and cake were delicious!

The Old Rectory will be open under the National Gardens Scheme next year.