It’s all a bit of a surprise to us. When we came to view the house we knew that it backed onto a wood. We knew that there was a gate into the wood at the end of the garden though we didn’t go through it because we were told it was jammed. What we didn’t realize was that on the other side of the gate is more garden, a secret garden, one that’s been left and allowed to revert back to the wood it leads into!

Since I was young I’ve wanted a bit of woodland. As a child I loved playing in woods, building hides etc and as I’ve got older have always liked the idea of looking after a bit of woodland. A garden is great but looking after a bit of woodland, clearing the undergrowth etc is something else entirely. Well now I’ve got it and it’s all a bit of a surprise………and quite exciting.

It’s not big, but big enough to be manageable and keep me interested

I’ve spent the last couple of morning’s chopping down branches and trying to clear some of the ivy and brambles.

There’s a bamboo and some very overgrown bay trees, so it must have been managed at some time.

I’ve also discovered a carved stone trough or planter which looks as if it will take a bit of moving.

So what’s the plan?………..well I’ll start by clearing away the brambles and the dead branches so that I can see exactly what we’ve got. I’ll let some light in and then wait and see what comes up in the spring. It’s all a bit exciting and all the better for being a surprise.