Almost 24 years since Jane and Noel Thompson moved into their Welton home, they’re opening the garden to the public for charity this month. Sue Mason enjoys a preview . . .

Jane Thompson with the showy border of fritilleria and a view of the Blue Garden, complete with blue glazed birdbath

There was just grass, trees and a thicket of long grass in the one-acre garden that Jane and Noel Thompson bought almost 24 years ago. There was a house, too, that had once been the gardener’s cottage for the Harrison-Broadley estate.

“We stood at the gate and we said we would try to buy it,” says Noel, who tries to make out the garden is, and always has been, Jane’s domain. She’s having none of it, though, and tells me it’s been Noel who’s done all the hard landscaping around their stunning, one-acre garden.

In fact, as we stroll around the garden, I discover it’s kept him reasonably busy for almost a quarter of a century. As well as all the paths and raised beds around the garden, the long, tunnel-like pergola that stretches back beyond an original stone entrance arch is Noel’s work, as is the rill.

The couple were keen gardeners at their previous home in North Ferriby and, more recently, Jane did a gardening diploma at Bishop Burton College.

“We did the garden bit by bit with some of the plans being done by Anthony Bloomfield, a garden designer who also studied at Bishop Burton,” says Jane, who, as well as having three children, also has three dogs and three cats.

Before the couple could even begin to redesign the garden, they had to tackle the soil. “It’s terrible here so we had to do a lot of soil improvement,” says Jane. “We planted potatoes in the vegetable patch to clean the land and we made compost heaps. Even now we put barrow-loads on every year because it just eats it up.”

Like most of the beds in the garden, the vegetable plot was raised and filled with compost, to boost the poor, shallow soil.

“When we’d got that sorted out, I built the wooden archway and then we put in the paths, which vary from brick, wood chippings and slate,” says Noel.

A patio area was the next project, followed by the woodland walk, the rill and most recently, a herb garden.

“We have rosemary, variegated sage, thyme and chives and in the middle is clematis Betty Corning, because everything goes lilac eventually,” says Jane. The herb garden is divided into areas and bordered by old sleepers and again, wood chippings and gravel are used to fill in.

The stone arch and wooden archway into a secret garden – the arch is planted with honeysuckle, clematis, wisteria and campsis

A member of the Hardy Plants Society, Jane is a lover of hardy perennials, particularly unusual ones. “I go on plant hunting holidays,” she tells me. “I go with my friend, Ann, who is a very generous gardener who is always giving me plants.

“We go to gardens and specialist nurseries and fill the back of the car up with plants. We went to New Zealand for a month looking at gardens.”

As well as a stunningly-designed garden, visitors to the garden on 31st May can therefore expect to see some unusual flowers, too. Jane has several different brunnera and a good collection of codonopsis; there’s a hellebore bed featuring many different coloured plants but most of these will have died back by then.

When I had my tour, the garden was a blaze of spring colour.

“The spring border is particularly good right now and coming into flower soon is a clianthus puniceus, which is only borderline-hardy,” says Jane.

“In May, the highlights will be the wisteria, laburnum, clematis Montana and a spectacular blue ceanothus. The hostas should also be at their best, I have a little collection of terrestrial orchids and there are a couple of nice peonies which might hang on.”

Arranged around the spacious barbecue and patio area are raised beds, including one known as the Blue Garden. Planted with corydalis, allium and a flowering currant White Icicle, it has as its centrepiece a blue glazed birdbath.

The front lawn has a comma-shaped grassed area surrounded by plantings, which include hellebores and tall plants; there’s another lawned area close to some outbuildings that were originally pigsties.

The main lawn is edged by a spring border, flourishing under currently-bare laburnum and silver birch. A pair of geese, made from wire, stand between the daffodils.

Running round from the top of the main lawn is the woodland walk, its bark-chip path and the logs that edge it made from self-seeded, unsuitable trees, which had to be removed. “We talked to the people at East Riding Council about taking them out and replacing them with more selective varieties,” explains Noel. “We planted prunus, mallus, medlar and silver birch but it will be a few years before it’s a real woodland.”

A view of the garden at Park House, Creyke Lane, Welton

At the bottom of the woodland walk – in which a stunning garrya (silk-tassel bush) grows, is the stone arch and wooden archway into a secret garden that is hidden behind a trellis. The arch is planted with honeysuckle, clematis, wisteria and campsis. Again, the garden is sub-divided, with borders planted with tall and colourful fritilleria Imperialis and lower growing, but still colourful, hellebores.

A wooden cartwheel is a feature of the seaside garden and raised beds are also built around Noel’s rill, near to which is a summerhouse; another feature is a circular bench, which encloses a dead tree-trunk, overgrown with ivy.

Further down is Jane’s Mediterranean garden, a gravelly area with pots and plenty of seating, while on the other side of the path are coldframes and greenhouses. “It’s the engine room of the garden,” says Jane.

Passing through a hole in the hedge, we emerge in the vegetable garden, where potatoes, leeks, onions, dwarf beans, chard and kale are planted. There’s also an asparagus bed.

This part of the garden is just outside what was the Harrison-Broadley’s walled garden. Now, there’s a long flower border against the wall itself and, at the bottom, Jane has planted an amelanchia, a parrotia persica, prunus cellura, gloditsia triacanthos and a weeping silver-leaved pear.

“That’s my little arboretum,” she says.

The garden of Park House, Creyke Lane, Welton, is open to the public on Sunday 31st May from 11am to 4pm under the National Gardens Scheme. Admission is £3 per person (accompanied children free). Park in the village. Creyke Lane is an unmade road close to the Green Dragon pub.

Factfile:

Hessle West Open Gardens takes place on Sunday 17th May, from 11am to 5pm.

This is an excellent chance to view about 20 gardens of varying size and style, each with its own character and interest.

Start at any garden, buy a ticket and you will receive a map of the gardens which are open. The open gardens will be marked with balloons and are located on:

Boothferry Road, Davenport Avenue, Redcliffe Road, Swanland Road, Westfield Rise, Clifftop Lane, Jenny Brough Lane, Woodfield Lane, Southfield, Barrow Lane and South Lane.

Adults £3, accompanied children free.