Lucy Redman School of Garden Design Garden

Head Gardener's Comment

Our quirky family orientated garden is around .75 acres and is set around a 1930s thatched cottage. Lucy is a maximalist plantswoman with a love of unusual plants, arts and crafts. The garden is divided into compartments each with a theme - Asian Border, Woodland Garden, Unusual Bulb and Rhizome Garden etc. Dominic has designed and maintains the circular fruit and veg garden and the girls who are 5 and 7 enjoy helping in the garden too! The garden houses sculptures by Maryanne Nicholls (a 10ft Vessel and The Walking Man) and Cary Normans -Pod and copper Spirals.Lucy has created various features such as a plough breast sculpture, willow tunnel and woven metal tree seat and stone parterre. Our moving works of art are a flock of 7 pure breed big fat healthy chickens which strutt 'free range' around the garden.

History

Dominic moved to Rushbrooke which is just outside Bury St Edmunds 26 years ago. Lucy met him in 1998 and together they started creating the garden in between having Tilly in 2001 and Flori in 2003! The garden is used as a teaching aid to show students attending THE LUCY REDMAN SCHOOL OF GARDEN DESIGN, good design and plant combinations. Alot of the plants are labelled using thier latin name, common name, country of origin and nursery from which they were brought. The garden has been featured in Country Homes and Interiors Mag - with thanks to Zara Napier for her photos. It has also been featured in The English Garden (May 2007) and Homes and Gardens Nov 2007 and the Japanese Bises magazine - with big thanks to Marcus Harpur for his superb photos. We are also in the Good Garden Guide. Lucy has helped Xa Tollemache of Hlemingham Hall on the deisgn and planting of her gold medal winning 1997 Chelsea Flower Show Garden. Our website shows when each garden feature was created but like all gardens the job is never done, it keeps changing and developing. Our aim is to create a unique space which is individual (no mass produced objects) inspiring and cosy - very unlike the mass produced minimalist cold gardens seen at the Chelsea Flower Show. We were honoured to show Lucy's great plant hero Beth Chatto around the garden on 12 May 2008. She wrote in our visitors book 'SIMPLY DELIGHTED TO SEE A GARDEN DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES - QUITE APART FROM THE SERIOUS PLANTSMANSHIP!'

Plants of Note

Loads! - The Asian Border includes a Koelreuteria paniculata 'Fastigiata', Lindera obtusiloba, Disperopsis perneyi. The Long Borders have the exquisite Trifolium ochroleucum or Yellow Clover, the vibrant red Ribes speciosum and Berberis 'Georgei' with it's translucent berries in autumn. The woodland garden is based around 3 multi-stemmed Betula utilis var. jacquemnontii and looks amazing in the spring with endless Hellebores and a wonderfully scented Daphne bhhloua 'Jacquline Postill'. Later Erithronium and Chiastophyllum cover the ground and the lovely Phlomis tuberosa Amazone draws plenty of attention. The trampoline beds house a collection of grasses including 6 Miscanthus Cosmopolitan which along with the delicate Orange feathered Poppy stunning with the black wall backdrop. Calamogrostis Overdam, Stipa tenuissima and Allium sphaerocephalon blend with Polygonum scoparium. Jasminum mesneyi was admired by Beth Chatto on her visit as was Libertia caerulescens. We are delighted that the delicate Snakes head Fritillaries seem to thrive in the Stone Parterre.