It was great fun today catching up with my friends over at Stockton Bury Gardens. Dodging rain clouds, I was whizzing around the beautiful 4 acre gardens first created by Uncle Raymond and Gordon over 40 years ago. Although I was there 'on business' (a photoshoot for my new range of Italian terracotta pots), I couldn't help not catching up with the family.
Stockton Bury is one of Herefordshire's flagship open gardens. A classic tale - historic pasture turned into a botanical oasis. A scenario I very often see when visiting Clients gardens around the Three Counties. In 2017 The Times named it as one of the UK's top gardens and The Telegraph listed their Tithe Barn as one of the top 30 garden cafés in the country... So, you could say they are on to something!
Many people also recognise Stockton Bury through Raymond's niece, Tamsin Westhorpe (you likely follow her on Instagram!). Tamsin was previously Deputy Editor of the Amateur Gardening magazine and then the Editor of The English Garden magazine. She now spends time in the garden, writes freelance... and is an RHS Judge! If you don't follow her, you absolutely must. She uses her account to provide a great and often humorous insight into the day-to-day jobs keeping the garden looking tidy, along with updates on her other ventures.
When you visit Stockton Bury (I certainly hope you do!), you'll be able to enjoy home-made lunches in the Tithe Barn, gorgeous gardens, a plant shop and, hopefully, Uncle Raymond's laugh. Plus, they stock my Cretan terracotta pots - an added bonus!
Stockton Bury is open Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 4.30pm (April 1st - September 30th).
Here are some of my pictures from today.
