A Snowy Carpet

Swathes of dainty snowdrops and golden, glowing aconites spread out before you at the tranquil country gardens at The Old Rectory near Longfield

- Leigh Clapp

“THE spring bulbs, snowdrops and aconites in particular, presumably planted long ago by a galanthophile rector, were the only garden features of note when we bought the house in 1983. They were even mentioned in the estate agent’s particulars,” remember Christopher and Karin Proudfoot.

On the hunt for a larger garden, The Old Rectory was in the village Christopher grew up in and perfect for their needs as a young family with 1.5 acres of grass and plenty of mature trees just waiting to be augmented with a garden.

Getting to know and working with the soil and conditions was important. “The soil is a bit of a problem, being on the North Downs the subsoil is free-draining chalk with a high pH, and although it’s good loam on top it limits what you can grow, while the garden is on three sides of the house and very shady,” says Karin.

Informing the evolution from a blank canvas to the all-season planted country garden you see today has been Karin’s keen interest in gardening that began in childhood.

A long-time member of the RHS and the Hardy Plant Society and a regular visitor to RHS Wisley, the garden evolved bit by bit, developing around the snowdrops over the past 30 years and extending the palette to include more bulbs, trees, shrubs and perennials.