The Beginning

When Aileen and Mike found the walled garden they were not looking for a new home. Perhaps it found them. Aileen had spent a week at a nearby landscape painting course, yet it received barely a mention upon her return. Instead she was enthused with the glorious landscape of the North Devon countryside. The very next day she returned to Devon with Mike.

The moment they laid eyes on the wall, they did cartwheels to see it closer. Mike wasn't a gardener and he didn't appreciate the effect a walled garden could have on a gardening enthusiast. Within TWO HOURS they had agreed to purchase. Only on the way home did they realise that their own home, which would have to be sold, wasn't even on the market!

Within four months, at the end of June, 1999, they had sold up and moved into what would become Winsford Walled Garden. During the next six months the trio cleared the site and began creating an amazing summer walled flower garden. Only after two years, did they discover the walled garden had NEVER been a walled vegetable garden. From the outset in 1883, Winsford had been designed as walled flower garden. The adjacent picture shows Aileen walking beside a 120ft of cold frame.

Today, the trio have created a fabulous contemporary summer flower garden built upon the wonderful legacy created long ago inside the Victorian walls. The garden is open daily between 01 May and 31 October and at other times by appointment.