Vann, near Godalming
Surrey in Historic Houses UK

The Historic England Registered Garden is some 5-acres, maintained with three days help.

It surrounds and complements a historic family home dating from the 16 century, giving a series of garden rooms of great variety, from the formal old “cottage garden” at the front with delightfully informal planting, to a robust pergola of Bargate stone by W.D.Caröe.

A stream enters the garden from the north and first runs in a rhyll, enclosed by large Yew hedges (1909). Originally planted as a rose garden the depredations of the wild deer have led us to remove the roses and re-plant with foliage plants to give round-the- year interest.

The unique Water Garden by Gertrude Jekyll (1911) comprises a succession of small ponds crossed by Bargate stone paths and bridges It flows down to a wild White Garden and coppiced woodland.

Island beds in the old orchard allow for experiment with more “modern” plants, and double mixed borders created in the vegetable garden allow use of more plants of special interest. The “Centenary Garden” (1908 – 2008) has been created to reduce the vegetable-growing area and comprises four”pavilions” of yew each enclosing a seating area with glass bottle paving, metal arches and a central raised bed.