At 20 metres x 8 metres (160 square metres), this plot is the size of a good-sized back garden (the UK average is around 90 square metres). Like many gardens, it has to do a variety of jobs. We enjoy the challenge of growing a wide variety of plants – edible, decorative and just plain fascinating – making the Botanist’s Garden a celebration of the wonderful diversity of the plant kingdom.

The small greenhouse, raised cold frames and sinks allow us to grow many smaller and more delicate plants at an easily accessible height. They are home to some of our favourites, including ‘alpines’, carnivorous plants, dwarf willows and a variety of British natives. The border on the northern side of the garden has a selection of unusual edible perennials, while the central beds contain larger perennials as well as flowers for the café.

Large-flowered Butterwort - a stricking carnivorous plant that has been introduced to England and grows wild in a few places, but a native wild flower in SW Ireland.

This garden is also home to the National Collection of hardy Gunnera, an ancient and intriguing plant family. Many Gunneras originate from the tropics and are tender, but a few are hardy and we have been collecting these for some time. Purpose-built raised beds give our Gunneras a home, and we have species originating from different regions - Tasmania, New Zealand, South America and South Africa - grown together with other plants from their home regions. More information.

The Botanist’s Garden is, of course, wildlife-friendly. Surrounded by a generous hedge of native species, there are two small ponds constructed from old car tyres. Everything is grown organically, without the use of pesticides, and the wide variety of plants provides niches for many different creatures.The result is an eclectic ‘plantsman’s garden'. After all, a garden is all about personal taste – individual likes and dislikes – and does not have to conform to fashion or a strict ‘design’.