A SECRET PLACE

Gardener Martin Smith and his partner Alex Taylor nurtured a rundown walled garden into a creative hideaway, borrowing from the landscape beyond to broaden their horizons

- JACKY HOBBS

This extraordinary walled garden is actually a former covered game larder which, centuries ago, served an extensive country estate in Wiltshire. Confined by the former building’s walls, this 40 by 25 metre, now-open-topped enclave harbours a flourishing garden created by Martin Smith and his partner Alex Taylor. Their home, a brick and tile-clad cottage, is built into the five-metre-high ‘garden’ wall; its metalwork rooftop weathervane dates it to 1715. From the outside, this imposing façade conceals all evidence of a garden beyond. ‘You wouldn’t know it was here,’ says Martin. ‘Open the huge old wooden garden doors and you are transported to another world.’