Mellowed In Time

At the foot of the South Downs sits an East Sussex garden where grasses wave in the wind and flowers thread through ribbons of foliage

- Caroline Wheater

STEEP AND CHALKY, the Sussex South Downs rear up above the quiet hamlet of Southerham, near Lewes. Here, several buildings, including a former granary and stable block, once belonged to a large downland farm. All are constructed from local brick and flint and picture-postcard pretty. The site is sheltered and south facing, with free-draining chalk soil.

Encircling the granary and stables is half an acre of abundant garden created over 10 years ago by Alison Grint and her husband Steve. In late summer, it glows with the jewel colours of seasonal flowers, berries and fruits. All are set against a luscious backdrop of shrubs, small trees and feathery grasses. It is a scene that the new owners, Sara Callerman and Girish Patel, are thrilled to have inherited since buying the two-storey granary cottage last year when the Grints decided to downsize. “The longer we’ve been here, the more enticing the garden becomes,” says Sara. A novice gardener, she has embraced Alison’s dream design. “Now we don’t want to go away in case we miss things blooming.”

The cottage and the adjacent self-contained, single-storey stables were originally converted in the mid 1970s. When the Grints bought the property in September 2005, the back garden was virtually empty, bisected by an ugly concrete drive flanked by fencing. “When we came to view the house, there was nothing noteworthy here except three large Bramley apple trees, a damson and a walnut, once part of the farm orchard. But I knew I could do something with it,” says Alison, a retired garden designer. “The cottage had an east-west aspect, with the garden wrapped around. It had lovely views, good light and potential.”