Moor Monkton Village

No doubt we’ll mention people by name later — but for now a big thank you to all the folks from the village and beyond who contributed to giving such a good impression to Moor Monkton’s visitors.

There was a steady flow of visitors through the Church Lane pay point where visitors could choose between visiting Red House, or the village, first.

We moved into No1 Priory View 4 years ago when the front garden consisted of gravel, conifers and a paved parking area. The garden is small but contains a wide range of perennial plants both old favourites and unusual specimens. There is a block paved path leading to the house and off to a seating area. The Garden gets sun in the early morning but shade in the afternoon making the seat a lovely place for an early cup of tea or in the heat of the afternoon a great place to cool off. We like fragrant plants and grow selection near the seating area. The back garden is still a work in progress and not open this year but will reflect the front garden and hopefully will be ready to welcome visitors at our next event.

A medium-sized, east/west facing family garden of approximately 1/8th of an acre. Bordered by hedges of Copper Beech, Leylandii and Hawthorn, the house and garden are 40 years old.

Blue/yellow themed and prarie style/ hot borders to the front enclose a small seating area that catches the afternoon and evening sun in summer. The shadier rear garden contains mature Bramley apple, Victoria plim and pear trees. A recently felled desert apple tree has been replaced by a young Sorbus Cashmiriana, which bears white berries in autumn.

Mixed borders of shrubs, perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses surround a large lawned area. A mature natural pond with gravel beach and cascade partly shield the greenhouse which is used for salad crops and over-wintering plants.

Trellis fencing, planted with a selection of clematis, honeysuckle and jasmine, divides the main garden from the vegetable plot that yields seasonal vegetables and soft fruits.

When we came to Moor Monkton in 1966 there was no garden to speak of as it had been a small holding. The garden you see now is the result of hard labour and plenty of mistakes. We think of it as being in the informal, cottage garden style (ie. grass edges sometimes untrimmed, and weeds that we call wild flowers. We’re thinking of applying for National Collection status for ground elder!).

The garden has views through the trees to the river. It contains a number of shrub roses, other flowering shrubs, and a mixed herbaceous/shrub border. Of the twenty-odd trees only two were here when we came. There are also a wildlife pond (where hordes of newts eat the frogspawn), a vegetable patch, and a steep slope with shrubs and an area of wild flowers we have planted for the first time this year.

Please feel free to relax on the garden benches. We hope you like the garden as much as we do.