A bouquet of ROSES
From the first glimpse of Erica’s garden, there can be no doubting her love of roses, whether scaling trees and walls, or mixing demurely with the starlets of high summer. But whereas many gardeners are beguiled by the beauty or romance of a particular rose, Erica was originally led by pragmatism. ‘As a mother of four boys, I had limited time to garden, but I learnt that by planting early bulbs and some repeat-flowering roses, I had colour from spring until autumn,’ she explains.
It was the start of a love affair with gardening that continues apace today at Corner House Farm, which has overlooked a Lincolnshire village green for some 300 years. In the past 16 years, Erica has developed this enchanting garden, with beds and borders interwoven with a tapestry of plants. ‘I wouldn’t call them ‘designed’ – that’s a rather grand word for my haphazard efforts – but a relaxed, cottage garden style has emerged,’ she concedes.
The site is reasonably sheltered, and the couple have established around 50 old-fashioned shrub, climbing and rambling roses, along with a number of trees.
Fact File
GARDENERS Erica and Colin McGarrigle.
LOCATION Little Humby, Grantham, Lincolnshire.
When the couple bought the Grade II listed farmhouse in 2004, the back garden was
