The July garden at Ednovean Farm

A statue in dappled shade in the Italian Garden

In fact we had to admit there was far too much dappled shade in the long gravel border that flanks one side of the Italian Gardens. The  energetic privet hedges that we planted because they were already growing in exposed positions on the farm and we knew would withstand winter gales, had settled down to take over the world now that it had a buffering line of three other hedges.  The once hot gravel border was cast into nearly permanent shade and the burgeoning succulents that used to grace it were but a distant memory. Ww set to work with a trusty length of used baler twine and a pair of our neighbours loppers to reduce the hedge by three quarters of its height - quite a task when you remember that the Italian garden is using the site of the old sand school which in turn was sixty metres long. It seemed to take forever to lower the hedge and then cart the debri away to a bonfire but slowly slowly we won and the plants of the border picked up by the day as the sunlight flooded back into them. I added a Trachycarpus Fortunei to the already lofty cordylines and then found a great collection of agaves that had outstayed their welcome at Kennegy Nurseries that are now enjoying the newly created oven that is once again our hot gravel border. We'll have to look again to see if the hedge should be totally removed this winter but this is a  safe compromise for now and as a final flourish I planned big dramatic scallops to lower the side hedges as they butted up to the side one and allow tantalising glimpses back into the lawns and statues.

A big scallop in the return hedge allows a glimpse
through to an Olive tree

The sunshine flooding back into the border

The border still

Succulents ready to plant

New groups of Agaves

The discus thrower

A long view

forks and buckets in the sheltered heart of the garden

Moving back into the courtyard garden formed from the old farmyard I always find its harmonious geometry soothing to the eye and catching shadows with areas moving in and out of prominence as the days goes on.

A view over the Parterre to St Michael's Mount from
the Pink room

The steps that flank the courtyard passed the Blue and the Apricot rooms

Morning sun and a little feral stops by for his daily bowl of milk

The courtyards summer finery of booms in the early
morning

The soft evening sunshine

and then the ever returning topiary and wild informal planting

Steps from the car park

An old wine box holds tiny violas tucked under a wall

Ribbons of lavender surrounding box balls

A terrace looking over the lawn to the Italian
Garden

Pretty Pelargoniums
enjoying the sunshine

The golden light of evening on the old stone walls