Jean Jackman’s gloriously rambling garden at Five Oaks Cottage in the heart of West Sussex has a distinctly personal style.
No vast acres, rolling lawns or serried rows of neat borders for Jean.
Instead, she’s created a secret garden of winding paths, towering shrubs and a whole host of wild flowers.
I don’t so much tame nature as edit it!
Five Oaks Cottage in the hamlet of West Burton near Pulborough was once home to actress, author and radio celebrity of the thirties and forties Mabel Constanduros.
Mabel loved the garden with its drifts of violets and bluebells and the five towering oaks which gave the cottage its name.
The house and garden have changed hands several times since Mabel’s death and the surrounding countryside has altered too.
But since moving there in 1994 Jean has tried to recapture some of that lost beauty.
Where the wild things grow
“When my husband Steve and I arrived there wasn’t much here, just a rather dry lawn, the oaks, some massive conifers and a hydrangea. I initially wanted to uproot that, but I am glad now I left it.”
The colour is glorious, and Jean says she doesn’t do anything to it – it just thrives naturally on the acidic clay.
“The previous owners had used a lot of fungicides and pest control, but I wanted to create a haven for wildlife. I positively welcome what others call weeds.”
Open for the National Garden Scheme
With Jean’s background as an artist and a buyer for a garden centre chain, it’s no surprise that her garden is anything but ordinary.
Jean loves to share it with others, opening to visitors by arrangement, as part of the National Gardens Scheme.
“The ‘by arrangement’ might seem a bit daunting, but it’s just so I know who’s coming and to give them directions, as we are quite hidden here.”
“People visit gardens for different reasons. Some just want to sit in peace and quiet, or they want to chat and drink tea. Others are plant enthusiasts like myself.”
“Since I stopped working in the business, I’ve got a bit rusty with all the Latin names, so it’s great when someone comes along to challenge me and remind me of everything I’ve forgotten!”
A haven for wildlife
As we walk and talk, it doesn’t seem to me that Jean has forgotten a thing.
She’s constantly pointing out insects, birds, butterflies and unusual plants, encouraging me to touch, sniff and use all my senses to get full enjoyment out of the garden.
Meanwhile, Pork Belly completely disappears.
It may be a small garden but with all its twists, turns and hidden areas you can feel quite lost.
Finally, the scent of fresh coffee brings him out, burbling enthusiastically about dappled sunlight and beautiful foliage, to join us.
Jean is delighted that we are enjoying ourselves so much.
“I can remember how I felt as a young girl visiting my grandmother’s garden. All the paths were narrow and twisting, and the plants towered over my head. I’ve tried to recreate that feeling and sense of wonder here.”
Paths snake unevenly round corners, revealing a small pond, a strange-smelling plant or even a secret sculpture.
A tiny wicker chair nestles amongst the black-stemmed bamboo while wicker rabbits nibble the grass.
Two small bikes rust gently amongst soft greenery, as though the children who rode them just drifted off one day and never came back.
A wooden gate, decorated with old garden tools, leads onto a wild meadow full of hog-weed and knapweed.
And at every step, a scent or sound will stop you in your tracks.
The clap of a startled pigeon’s wings, the strange roasted-nut smell of wild euphorbia, butterflies flitting through the leaves, the buzz of pollen-drowsy bees amongst the hollyhocks.
“Oh those hollyhocks! They refuse to grow in the flowerbeds, they simply spring up in the sandy cracks between the paving stones!”
Natural gardening
That’s where Jean’s editing process comes in. Things are allowed to self-seed, but she will move them to a better location when the time is right.
“Nothing gets cut down until February or March. I then chop things up into small pieces and let them lie on the ground as mulch. It attracts the slugs and snails, but I don’t care – as far as I’m concerned they are welcome food for the toads and birds.”
“When we first came here, the deer would invade the garden and damage the plants. So we created a wild area for them, which seems to keep them happy.”
Jean applies the same ‘live and let live’ approach to the plants too.
“One of my favourite gardening gurus is Henk Gerritsen who believed that a garden is just as interesting when it’s dying down in the autumn and winter as it is in spring and summer.”
Gerritsen loved browns and greys and the patterns that the skeletons of plants make as they shed their leaves. I try to create that same feeling here, so there’s always something interesting to look at whatever the season.”
“It’s not that I don’t like conventional flowers, it’s just that I also love the vivid contrasts of stems and leaves, rusty metal and dead wood.”
“I know not everyone will like what I have done here, but most people seem to understand.”
“It takes a lot of hard work to achieve the look I’m after, which one visitor described as “romantically shaggy”. I love that!”
More information about Five Oaks Cottage and NGS
Five Oaks Cottage garden is only open to visitors by appointment through the
National Garden Scheme – find a garden near you
Disclaimer: We support the NGS and paid for our admission to the garden.
Where to next?
• Lost gardens of Heligan
• Secret gardens of London
• Island Life – Isle of Wight