2019-07-01_Country_Homes_Interiors

There’snoshortage

ofbeautifulviewsin

this fairy tale setting

My favourite view...

the gardens of Chateau

de la Motte Husson

Wehavea beautifulsouth-facing

suiteintheoldservants’quarters,

whichwe’venamedthePotagerie

Suitebecauseofthemostfantastic

viewit presentsofthewalledgarden

below.There’snowhereelselikeit

inthehouse.I lovethedappledlight

it getsintheafternoonsunandmy

husband,Dick,well...hewouldhave

boughtthechateauforthisview

ofthewalledgardenalone!

Weboughtthepropertyfrom

thedeBaglionfamily,andthey

showedusthewalledgardenwhen

wewentforourfirstviewing.Atthe

timeit wassomassivelyovergrown

withbramblesandweedsthat

it stoodfartallerthananyofus

• some 10 or 15 feethigh!
  Thepropertyitselfdidn’thave
  heating,electrics,ora sewage
  system, so the garden wasn’t top

ofourprioritylistwhenwefirst

movedin.Butweeventuallyturned

ourattentiontoit andrestoredits

hiddenpathways.Lastsummerwe

wereevenabletostartgrowing

fruitsandvegetablesinthere.Now,

there’sa wholerowofraspberryand

blackberrybushes,andthekidslove

tosit,straddlingthetrees,eating the

fruitstraightfromthebush.

Oneofmyfavouritethingsis

whenwegeta bitofdowntimeand

canjustwalkaroundandseehow

everythingis doing.Thekidslove

playinginthemudandwatering

everythingandanything– including

us!It’sgettingbacktonatureand

enjoyingold-fashionedwayswith

thefamilythatmakeit sospecial.

Iloveflowersand,forme,having

livedinLondonformanyyears,

flower buying had always been

doneatColombiaRoadFlower

Marketaslateinthedayaspossible

soI couldgeta bargain!Dicknever

boughtmeflowersassuch,buthe

hasturneda quarterofthewalled

gardenintoa cuttinggardenforme.

Ihavemyveryownplotoflavender,

abigrowofwildflowers,loadsof

eucalyptus,perennials,rosebeds

andhydrangeabeds,andthatwas

Dick’spresenttome!Somuch

betterthana bunchofflowers.

LastyearI evenpresseda load

ofblossomsfromthegarden,

turningthemintoa kindofindoor

cuttingtableinthePotagerieSuite.

Angel’sfirstsoftfurnishingsand

wallpapercollection,TheChateauby

AngelStrawbridge,is availablefrom

selectedretailersnationwide.Find

yournearestatbelfielddesignstudio.

com/the-chateau-by-angel-strawbridge FEATURE

THEA BABINGTON-STITT

Roomwithaview

my FAvoURiTE viEw