CASCADING COLOUR

Summer is vibrant with bloom at Oaklands garden in Blindley Heath, a newcomer to the National Garden Scheme and definitely one to discover

- Leigh Clapp

Draped in climbers and adorned with vibrant hanging baskets, the 32-metre long curved pergola at Oaklands is a stunning highlight of this attractive garden developed by owners Joy and Justin Greasley. Spread out from the house the garden also has lovely specimen trees, expansive lawns, herbaceous planting, a summerhouse and gazebo, a dappled shady pond, a Gothic folly patio, as well as a productive garden with raised beds. This is a new-build garden created from scratch by novice – but now keen – gardeners, since buying the house in 1997. “We were the first owners, the house having been built on the site of a demolished hotel, and were attracted by the setting, surrounded by a Site of Special Scientific Interest, very few neighbours yet close enough to local amenities,” says Joy. “The roughly half an acre garden was secondary to the house, and our previous garden had been a very small and easy to maintain garden.”