“Julian really doesn’t like anything peachy,” says Isabel, choosing Rosa x odorata ‘Benghal Crimson’ over the mutating shades of Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis’ (the latter is nicely faded in Italy, she says). Lilies are yellow-orange with red streaks (Lilium African Queen Group) and angel’s trumpets are faded orange (Brugmansia x cubensis ‘Charles Grimaldi’). The colors they use are deconstructed peach: a spectrum of yellow and red, which mingle but are not mixed into one color.
Above: Two Bannerman classics, an idea of an urn, carved out of green oak, and an orange (definitely not peach) martagon lily.
The Bannermans came upon the idea of carving structures from green oak (beginning with the temple they made for the then Prince of Wales at his Highgrove garden) when they saw a model of a Greek temple made from cork. The carved features have a trompe l’oeil effect. At Trematon, the motte and bailey castle in Cornwall, they had oak canons facing out toward the bay. Here at Ashington Manor, a commissioned oak porch distracts from a wonky doorway, providing an appropriate sense of relaxed grandeur.
Above: The courtyard garden outside the cottage.
Previous owners of Ashington Manor were concrete magnates. One concrete expanse has been repaved with narrow cobbles, and the courtyard sports a myriad of pots as well as reclaimed pieces of stone that add structure. Both Julian and Isabel love buying antiques, and their son is an antique dealer. “Antiques are my great pleasure,” says Isabel.
Above: “We’re very un-interfering,” says Isabel.
Roses are another Bannerman specialty—the more rambling, oversized, and fragrant the better. They do not have to be “well behaved.” For more Bannerman rose effects, see: In Appreciation of the Old Roses at Asthall Manor.
Above: Another entrance and allée from the wider garden towards the house.
Horizontals of yew hedging provide tantalizing glimpses of the effusive garden on the other side. Romping over a shop-bought frame (from Harrod Horticultural) is the notoriously vigorous rose R. Mulliganii, usually seen in Sissinghurst’s White Garden (and shown here at three-years old). “We planted one of the fastest-growing roses I’ve ever seen,” says Isabel. “And because we’re always in a hurry, it’s brilliant.”
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