There’s a moment on a property viewing when you step through the back door, or round the side of the house, and the garden opens up in front of you. The light catches the details – maybe it’s the beautifully kept borders or the sheer scale of the lawn – and it stops you in your tracks. Whatever it is, the decision is already half made. You could live here. You imagine summers in the garden, barbecues on the patio, planting new colours.
Gardens are magical like that; they’re emotional in a way that square footage and bedroom count aren’t. National Gardening Week feels like the perfect moment to celebrate the outdoor spaces we love, and to share a few ideas for making the most of your own garden this spring.
Here are five of our current properties where the garden is, arguably, the headline act.
Bridgend House, Noss Mayo
£2,500,000
Bridgend House, Noss Mayo, sits within approximately 5.5 acres of mature grounds on the edge of Noss Mayo, and the garden here has the kind of character that takes decades to develop. There’s a sweeping lawn, well-stocked shrub borders, a pretty stream, an ornamental tree and a greenhouse, but what strikes you most is how it all flows down from the house. Steps lead down through the grounds, pathways slope gently around the stream, leading into the formal garden.
A heated swimming pool, circular gazebo and terrace complete the picture. And just beyond the boundary, the river estuary. And the quay at Noss Mayo. It’s the sort of setting where you find yourself walking the grounds before you’ve even looked at the house properly.
Established shrub borders like those at Bridgend can feel overwhelming if they’ve been left to their own devices over winter. The simplest starting point is to cut back anything that’s clearly dead, lightly fork the soil between plants, and top-dress with compost. At this time of year, less intervention is usually more; let things emerge before deciding what needs moving or replacing.
For streams and damp margins, now is the perfect time to plant primroses or ferns. They establish quickly in moist conditions and look completely natural within a season.
46 Green Park, Chillington
£370,000
A delightful, well-presented detached bungalow in the popular village of Chillington, with a garden that turns out to be one of its best surprises. Outside, a lovely patio and well-established planting create a beautiful, tranquil setting, the kind of space that makes you want to sit down with a cup of something and not move for a while.
A central lawn is bordered by mature bushes, trees, and shrubs, leading to a good-sized pond at the far end. Stepping stones guide you through, bamboo and other planting frame the pond to charming effect, and there’s a genuine sense that this garden has been put together with real thought. A good-sized plot, perfectly suited to al fresco dining and simple outdoor living.
Spring is the ideal moment to attend to a garden pond. Clear out any dead leaves and blanket weed that built up over winter, but leave some of the debris on the side for a day or two before disposing; it gives any overwintering invertebrates a chance to return to the water. Once the water temperature begins to rise, marginal plants like iris, marsh marigold, and water forget-me-not can go in around the edges. They establish quickly and are invaluable for insects and birds through the summer.
Penveron, The Level, Dittisham
£900,000
The landscape at Penveron really demonstrates the idea of working with what you have, and it has turned out gloriously. Far-reaching views, a manicured garden that catches the sunshine, and in the spring, drifts of bluebells that make the whole place feel a little magical. Dittisham is one of those villages people fall in love with on a single visit, and this garden is the perfect expression of why.
It’s the kind of outdoor space that is even better in person; the views open up further than you’d expect, and the planting has a softness to it that feels genuinely cared for rather than managed.
If the Dittisham bluebells have inspired you, British bluebells are best planted ‘in the green’, while still in leaf, immediately after flowering in late April or May. Tuck them under deciduous trees or along hedgerows in partial shade, leave the leaves to die back naturally, and they’ll multiply year on year. Worth noting: the Spanish variety is widely sold but can hybridise with and gradually crowd out our native species, so do check the label.
Honeywells, Ipplepen
£895,000
Honeywells is a beautifully presented family home in the village of Ipplepen, with an enclosed garden that feels like a haven, and one that has clearly been the centre of a great deal of enjoyment over the years. Mainly laid to lawn, it has colourful, well-stocked flower beds and borders, a patio, a summerhouse, and a workshop for whoever needs somewhere to disappear to.
A particular feature is the working well that gives the house its name, supplying seven outside taps across the garden, a genuinely useful thing that most gardeners would quietly love. Add a palm tree, flower planters, and a greenhouse, and you have a garden with real character and real practicality in equal measure. There is something just a little magical about it.
Great seating areas work because they’ve been positioned to make the most of what’s there: the views, the sunshine, the sense of being within the garden rather than just beside it. If you’re thinking about adding or improving a seating area, consider aspect first: where does the sun fall in the morning, and where in the evening? Even a simple paved area or a few well-placed slabs can transform how much you actually use a garden. Surround it with fragrant planting, such as lavender, rosemary, or a climbing rose, and it becomes somewhere you’ll find yourself gravitating to without quite deciding to.
Anchor Cottage, Aveton Gifford
£450,000
Anchor Cottage is a charming attached cottage tucked away in the ever-popular village of Aveton Gifford. To the rear, an established raised garden has been beautifully presented: mature planting, a raised patio, a small pond, colourful flowers, and well-established shrubs come together to create a setting that feels genuinely restful. It’s a garden designed for actually being in, somewhere to sit out on a spring morning, watch the birds, and feel glad of where you live. The kind of garden that a small cottage can offer when it’s been thoughtfully tended.
If your borders feel a bit thin after winter, the quickest fix is layering. Low-growing plants at the front, such as hardy geraniums, alchemilla, and ajuga; mid-height colour in the middle (salvias, penstemons, lupins); and something taller at the back: delphiniums, verbascum, or a climbing rose. Plant in informal groups of three or five rather than single specimens, and it will look intentional rather than planted. A mulch of compost between plants now feeds, retains moisture through summer, and suppresses weeds, all in one go.
Broad Downs, Marlborough
£1,700,000
Broad Downs is an attractive, immaculately presented farmhouse set within approximately 4.5 acres on the edge of Marlborough. Over four acres of well-managed meadows encircle the property, all securely enclosed with Suffolk fencing, and a picturesque wildlife pond adds to the sense that this is a place that has been cared for with real attention.
A 6ft Canadian cedar hot tub offers the ideal spot to take in the views across the countryside, and in the lounge, two sets of French doors open directly onto a south-facing slate terrace, creating that seamless connection between inside and out that everyone hopes for and relatively few properties actually achieve. On a good day, you would barely know where the house ended, and the landscape began.
A well-managed meadow like the one at Broad Downs is one of the most valuable things a large garden can have, ecologically and aesthetically. The key is timing your cuts correctly. For a traditional hay meadow, one cut in late summer (after seeds have set) is all that’s needed, followed by removal of the cuttings to keep the soil relatively low in nutrients, which is counterintuitively what wildflowers prefer. If you’re starting from scratch, spring is the right moment: prepare the ground now, sow a native wildflower mix, and resist the urge to intervene until September.
If any of these properties have caught your eye, we’d love to show you around. Take a look at our other properties here. And whatever your garden looks like right now, a window box, a courtyard, or a few acres of Devon countryside, we hope this spring is a good one for it.
Happy National Gardening Week!