Page 94 - homes & gardens

The garden at Fairlight End
slopes away steeply from
the 18th-century redbrick
farmhouse to a large pond
with two seats, a perfect spot
for relaxed contemplation.

hen Chris Hutt and his wife, Robin, moved to garden on different levels in London, he decided to contact him. As
Fairlight End, 11 years ago, he laid out an orchard Ian says, “We talked on and off for a couple of years before Chris plucked
at the bottom of the garden. He planted three up the courage to make some decisive changes.” In return, Chris
rows of ten trees, but that was the last straight line explains, “Ian has become an integral part of what we are trying to do
W that would ever be drawn in the three-acre plot, here. There isn’t a straight line in the place now.” The fact that Ian loves
which drops steeply away from the house towards Rye Bay. Since then, curves is abundantly obvious from the sinuous mown paths that fow
the garden has been developed to follow the contours of the land. down through long grass, uniting the garden seamlessly with the hay
The couple originally had a holiday home on the East Sussex coast meadows beyond, while three 20-year-old clipped mophead Crataegus
but, when they decided to settle there permanently, they knew they would x lavalleei ‘Carrierei’ link the near and far views in a pleasing way.
need a larger house. A mile inland, they found exactly what they were The scene manages to be timeless and yet strikingly contemporary.
looking for in the shape of an 18th-century redbrick farmhouse. “We The cherry tree has been kept, but the sloping ground was remodelled
were bowled over by the view to the sea,” explains Chris, “but we also and retained by a Corten steel wall, while a new decked seating
liked the fact that the house is in the middle of the village of Pett.” area, created to take advantage of the view, is planted with more
The gardens at Sissinghurst and Great Dixter, both nearby, were than 50 tightly clipped Alpine Pinus mugo var. mughus, as an effective
Chris’s reference points. He admired the style of the planting common alternative to blight-prone box.
to both, but knew he would have to adapt them to make them work at Other parts of the garden have been remodelled, too, with steps
Fairlight End. “We are extremely exposed to high winds here, which cutting through herbaceous planting. “I’m not keen on borders that
affects how I garden. I don’t like staking, tying and supporting, which you stand back to admire,” says Chris. “I like to be able to walk through
is done very labour intensively at Sissinghurst and Dixter, so I’ve chosen planting.” Even in the more formal areas near the house, straight lines
tough plants capable of withstanding the wind on their own. Grasses, have been eschewed. Existing paths and borders linking the house to
for instance, wave happily, bending and shimmering in the wind.” the vegetable garden have been replaced by brick-edged gravel paths,
For some years, Chris worked on the garden alone, planting which snake through planting backed by clipped and curving yew hedges.
wall-backed borders, wildfower meadows, an extensive vegetable Although the question of how to integrate the countryside has been
garden and a wide lawn beneath a mature cherry tree. Yet he continued resolved, the garden continues to develop: the front garden is currently
to be troubled by the steep gradient below the house and how to incor- under consideration, while Chris’s orchard has also undergone the
porate the surrounding countryside into the garden view. Eventually, curvaceous treatment. Some trees have been taken out, others have
he realised he needed outside help and, having read how the garden been moved, and curved hedging planted to bring it into line, if you will
designer Ian Kitson had dealt with a similar problem of creating a pardon the pun, with the rest of this extraordinary garden. l

94 | H&G | SEPTEMBER 2015

0123456789
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN