Backbone of Britain: Farmer opens her garden gates to raise thousands for charity

Talking points

Created by Chris, Two large, rusted metal spheres in one corner of the parkland area proved a talking point on the day. The metal balls are just one of several sculptures scattered around the garden, which have been made by Chris to meet Kate’s vision.

“It just needed something big and bold and easy to make,” says Kate, in reference to the spheres.

Chris adds: “Kate doesn’t do tiny or easy. Actually, the bigger they are, the easier they are to make. I bent them round a tractor tyre to get the shape.”

Chris is keen to use whatever he can on-farm to create something original for the garden and the large bluebell sculpture in the natural woodland walk area is one such example.

Ribbed pipe has been used to make the stem, with the pipe split in two to create the leaves. The flower head has been made with a ‘sanitary trapper’ from the old herringbone milking parlour. Bits of metal milk liner then hang in the upturned trapper to create a wind chime.

“If you get a strong wind, you get a tinkle. But when it blows that hard, you probably don’t want to be out here,” admits Chris.

Elsewhere in the garden there are wooden benches carved by Chris, a circle of posts arranged at varying heights to create a snail and various nods to the farm, such as planters made from metal water troughs in the contemporary area and metal cart wheels.

Kate also admits to having a bit of an obsession with staddle stones, which she snaps up at auctions and farm sales and uses to edge the driveway.

The drive’s verge is also lined by an avenue of limes. When the woodland parkland fencing went up a couple of years ago to replace an untidy wire fence, Kate took the opportunity to make the verge wider into the dry cow paddock.

The dry cows and a couple of calves proved a particularly popular photo opportunity and talking point on the garden open day.

Chris says: “We had people asking about the farm, which was good. I’m always happy to talk to them. It’s nice to talk to the general public. It’s a good ice breaker.”

Enjoyment

Various aspects of the garden have a personal story linked to the family. The oak tree at the start of the gravel drive approaching the farmhouse was brought with Kate and Chris when they moved from Chris’s family dairy farm in Wotton-under-Edge to set up their own dairy at Oakwood Farm 28 years ago.

Two dens in the woodland area are also lasting memories of a Bear Grylls-type party the family had about 10 years ago for 16-year-old son Andrew’s sixth birthday and a fire pit, made by eldest son Stuart, now 21, is now used for family fry-ups, rather than barbecues.

Many of the features in the garden have been a family team effort and even the stone bridge over the currently dry pond was constructed by Chris and the boys eight years ago.

“Whenever we’re building things, they’re always out with us. Buttering the blocks I call it,” says Chris. “I used to have to do that at their age too.”

The pond is packed with bull rushes which originated from a pond elsewhere on-farm, while the irises have multiplied from a couple of plants given to the family in an old fertiliser bag by a friend.

The garden is enjoyed all year round and no doubt a draw for Kate’s bed and breakfast guests who can stay in one of three rooms in the house and have access to their own sitting room.

The bed and breakfast is marketed as a traditional, farmhouse stay, with the farm’s location near Cirencester and the Cotswolds, proving popular with business people during the week and wedding and holiday guests at the weekend.

Guests are surprised it’s a working dairy farm while also being so quiet. And they like the little places in the garden they can go and sit and chill out.