52 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2019
L
ooking across the lake at The Grange
in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, to a
tapestry of late-summer colour, it’s
hard to believe that this beautiful
garden almost didn’t happen. A
little over 12 years ago, its creators, Vicky and Peter
Farren, were planning to move to Cambridgeshire.
Although they scarcely had time for their one-acre
garden in North London, Vicky had a hankering for
something larger and more interesting beyond the
suburbs. Of the many sets of property particulars
that dropped through the letterbox, one caught
Vicky’s attention. “The Grange looked intriguing,”
she recalls “but it was in Oxfordshire not
Cambridgeshire, so I put it straight in the bin.”
A few days later, one of their daughters needed
a lift to Heathrow. Realising she would be within
an easy drive of Chalgrove, Vicky retrieved the
details from the rubbish and planned her detour.
“As soon as I drove through the avenue of trees at
the entrance, I knew this was the one,” she admits.
“I almost didn’t care what state the house was in.”
Although in need of work, the house was in
reasonable condition. It had been well constructed
from Oxfordshire stone by a local farmer for his
growing family in the 1950s. He had built it close
to a stream and then created a garden from the
surrounding field, digging a large lake with an
island, fortifying the banks of the stream with
enormous boulders, and planting great hedges of
yew, beech and hundreds of conifers. By the time
Vicky Farren made her first visit, large areas of the
garden had been abandoned. “It reminded me ofTop On the lake’s island,
a gazebo and deck are
positioned to soak up
the evening sun.
Above Sedum
and salvia mingle with
fountains of grasses.