John and Diana Morley have lived in deepest rural Suffolk for over 50 years, in an isolated cottage painted in a warm shade that’s halfway between Suffolk-pink and Italian terracotta. Not surprising, really, because they’re both trained artists who studied at the Royal Academy. Their one-acre garden, part woodland idyll, part fritillary meadow and part stylish parterre, lies on soil John describes as ‘rotten egg’ – a local term, apparently. His beautifully labelled plant collection, gathered from famous horticultural giants such as Sir Cedric Morris and Helen Ballard, hasn’t noticed his reputedly poor soil though: all these plant treasures are well and truly thriving.
John Morley, one of the original snowdrop glitterati, was inducted into the dark art of snowdrop worship by three elderly ladies who attended his art class in Epsom in Surrey back in the 1970s. “They were keen gardeners and grew snowdrops
