The garden of Chilcombe House, Dorset
The home of the Hubbard family
I LAST visited Chilcombe House more than 30 years ago when it belonged to the acclaimed American painter John Hubbard, who, for 50 years, made his home in England with his wife, Caryl, and who created the garden. John died in 2017 and Caryl in 2021 and Chilcombe now belongs to their children, Kate and Edmund.
As I approached for my return visit, I was intrigued as to what I would discover after such a long time, not least because I vividly remembered the powerful sense of place portrayed by the simple stone house, its intimate yet ebullient garden and the surrounding Dorset landscape folding down to the sea a few miles away. I need not have worried. As soon
