There is something magical about snow

When we decided that we would be selling our house we thought it would be rather nice for someone interested in buying the house here in Llanfoist, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire near Monmouth on the border between Wales and England - to see what it is like in the winter as well as in the summer.  We do not often have enough snow to cover the ground, but when we do the whole garden changes into a silent white space. This large georgian country house set in it's own secluded gardens and grounds is currently for sale.  It has been the home of the fashion designers Charles and Patricia Lester for over thirty-five years.

The side of the house freshly painted with snow!

We hope that our very large garden will attract someone to buy the property here in Abergavenny.

The Orchard

This was taken in September - so late summer.  The orchard is possibly overcrowded - when you first plant small trees it is difficult to envisage how big they are going to grow and we have not been very good at pruning the fruit trees as we always think of it at the wrong time of the year.  There are four varieties of apple, these will be listed when I remember what they are.  Several plums including a greengage - my very favourite fruit and a few cherries and pears.

The Kitchen garden is a personal passion.  The best method of growing vegetables is a combination of cottage garden and potager planting, so a formal layout was planned with the beds either long and narrow or small squares.  This makes hoeing easier so that you don't tread on the ground and compact the soil.  The most vital part of planning this garden was to make sure that it was rabbit and fox proof.  A trench was dug all round and wire netting laid in the trench and taken up over 6 ft high.  The height was necessary because our slug deterants are ducks and foxes eat ducks!  The ducks are allowed in the vegetable part of the garden during the winter (making sure to protect the brassicas) and they do a magnificent job of clearing up all the slugs.  The goose eliminates the buttercups in the mown paths, but he is very partial to the runner beans - so his work is winter work too.

Views around the garden

 View of the Scots Pine trees lining the drive - taken from across the meadow.  The meadow had just been cut - late in the year to ensure that the seeds of the wildflowers were mature enough to regenerate.