Pauls Hill

Garden

The garden at Pauls Hill House was designed in 2001 by Ryl Nowell of Cabbages & Kings in Hadlow Down East Sussex, who sadly passed away in February 2005.  The garden takes advantage of the views towards Bidborough and the sloping terrain.  There are in the region of 30 different species of established trees, and also a large bank of rhododendrons.

Much of the garden has been landscaped over the past 3 years and hence there is a large area of new planting.  The bank next to the tennis court was planted first in 2002 and the herbaceous border near the garage was planted in Spring, 2004. The designer managed the transition from the formal, rectangular shapes close to the house to the more informal curved shapes to blend in with the countryside, to great effect.  With this in mind we planted the hedge with hawthorn, ilex and beech along the footpath to Penshurst.

The design aims to break the garden into a number of “rooms” with different characters and transitions.  Ryl’s landscaping design makes use of brick, terracotta, paving and wood.  Four decks provide eating, viewing and shade areas.

Much of the garden remains semi wild including such traditional English plants as nettles.  There is a second world war pillbox remaining as part of the garden.