Hints & tips

GETTING STARTED

Barbara says before creating a garden, see where the sun rises and sets. Think about what can be used, like having espaliered plants against walls. Sit down and draw a garden plan – even if you can’t draw, you can scribble shapes or write words.

GET EXPERT HELP

Mark prunes the pears, figs, grapes and olives every year, but “I don’t let him near my roses,” says Barbara. “I have a chap called Mervyn. He rocks up in early August to prune them. He says, ‘You aim for an urn shape.’ And I say, ‘I’d rather you do it’.”

FOOD & WATER

Through the paving system is a basic black hose irrigation network, “which we leave to trickle. Mark put extra hose through the potagers. I like to commune with nature and walk through the garden and hand water in summer. A treat for roses is to give them a bucket of water and a bit of sea salt. They love it.”