At 630 square metres, the garden has enough room to carry out some of Black's other wishes-namely, to keep her garden thriving in a special way. "I wanted a range of plants that would bloom at different times of the year," she says, "and I wanted fragrances, like the scent of lilacs all summer long."
For this she went to plantsman Robert Gamache, a veteran garden designer whose artistry is evident in every element of the garden. His archways-iron frames covered with saplings and branches in willow and birch-give the garden their distinctively magical feel. "I like things very natural," Gamache says. "I really like movement and I like to give the impression you're inside a hidden place."
In summer, not only do half a dozen varieties of clematis wind their pretty petals through the arches, but hydrangea, malva, juniper, English ivy and white cosmos spill over the stone walls. The plantsman also favours intensely pink dahlias and stands of spiky magenta lythrum, set off against the green leaves of hostas and iris. Visitors tread on creeping thyme and yellow flowered sedum growing underfoot.
"It is a secret garden," Black says happily. "When I look out, it's like I'm looking through windows on the world, surrounded by beautiful flowers."
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