At home with...OwnersJeanandSteve
Jackman,catsBootsandBrinwho
appearedoutoftheshrubbery
oneday,andfourhens.
HouseBuiltaround1930,
designedbyReginaldFairfax
Wells,aero-engineerandpotter
aswellasarchitect/developer,in
theArtsandCraftsstyle.
Originallythatched.
GardenfeaturesOneacre
of sticky acidic clay soil.Fewofusexpecttoreadanaccountofourgardens
writtenbya previousownersowhenJeanandSteve
JackmanboughtFiveOaksCottagenearPetworthin
WestSussex,theywereexcitedtodiscoverthatMabel
Constanduros,actress,playwrightandradiocelebrityofthe1940s
haddescribedlivingthereinhermemoirShredsandPatches. ‘She
talksabout“palepinksweet-smellingviolets”,and“primroseson
thebanksunderthenuttrees”,’saysJean.Thevioletsstillglow
brightintheduskandtheprimrosesself-seedwherevertheywill.
WhatJeannowdescribesas‘anacreofdelicatejungle’,fullof
playfulcharm,unusualplantsandstrikinggardenalia,wasfarfrom
magicalwhenthecouplefirstviewedit in1993:‘It wassterile,with
justa fewshrubsincludingtwoelectric-bluehydrangeas,coloured
bytheacidsoil,’saysJean.‘However,it didhavethefivewonderful
oaksthatgivethehouseitsname.’Thoughtheybothlikedtheway
thegardenwrappedrightaroundthehouse,Jeanfeltit mightbe
tooshadytogrowplantswell.‘NowadaysI lovetheshade,’shesays.
Jeanwasworkingasa plantbuyerata gardencentrewhenshe
andStevemovedin,bringinghercollectionofunusualshrubs.Their
firstprojectwasa fencedvegetablepatch.‘Welovetogrowsalads
andvegetablesandknewthelocaldeerweregoingtobea
challenge.Nowthegardenis maturetheydofarlessdamageand
I likehearingthemsnortingandruttinginthevalleyinautumn,’says
Jean.‘Myaimwastomakea gardenforwildlifeandtodivideit into
differentlystyledareas.I originallywantedcolour-themedareasbut
I’mnotdisciplinedenough,andthenaturalevolutionthrough
self-seedingfascinatesmesoI don’tliketobetoocontrolling.’
Areasweregraduallyshapedandplanted,incorporatingplenty
of places to sit and enjoy the space. When she was madeApairofstandard
olivetreesframes
a pathflankedby
self-seededErigeron
karvinskianus, acer,
Hakonechloamacra
‘Aureola’,crocosmias
and bamboo
>