Stoke's House was a long term gardening project in Richmond on sandy soil with mostly a sunny aspect and some woodland area.  The gardens covered about 3/4 of an acre and included a box garden with roses and herbaceous plants, three large herbaceous beds with two under pergolas, a brick garden, a large shrub border, 2 woodland areas, a mediterranean border, a large lawn area, two 300 yr old mulberry trees and a large Wisteria reported to be one of the oldest in the country over 100yrs old.  

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With such a large area there was opportunity to have a good number of features and grow a great variety of plants in favourable conditions.  Regular maintenance accompanied project development which lead to the garden being opened regularly to the public in Ham Open Gardens and on occasion through the National Garden Scheme.  The garden was a joy to work in and Rachel's vision and effort and backing made for great progress.  My time at Stoke's House finished in 2010 when injury forced me to stop working.

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