Farnborough garden raises funds & smiles 

Liz Nicholls

The Old Rectory in Farnborough has been lovingly tended for more than half a century, helping raise funds for charity thanks to the National Garden Scheme, so why not visit?

Great gardens will inspire & delight in equal measure and that’s certainly true of The Old Rectory. Regional finalist in The English Garden’s The Nation’s Favourite Gardens 2019, this eight-acre garden features a series of immaculately tended garden rooms. 

The garden is especially stunning in the springtime, when it opens to visits who book through the National Garden Scheme (ngs.org.uk), which raises life-changing funds for charity.   

It features herbaceous borders, arboretum, secret garden, roses, vegetables, pool, bog gardens and woodland, with an explosion of rare and interesting plants, beautifully combined for colour and texture. The Old Rectory was once home to John Betjeman (you can see the memorial window by John Piper in church). It also offers magnificent views, from a blessed position, 250 metres high.  

Despite being subject to winds from the downs, this garden has been created over more than 60 years, helped by the original planting of large trees and hedges. The house is very pretty and sits at the heart of the garden. Deep parallel herbaceous borders are backed by yew hedges. The planting in front of the house is subtle and effective, and the smaller areas have been laid out for sun or shade-loving plants.  

Woodland contrasts with shrubs and lawns, and the fast-growing arboretum now contains more than 150 trees. The swimming pool is surrounded by a large hydrangea sargentiana and potted lilies, with mixed roses and clematis around the outside walls. There is a collection of old roses and small flowered clematis, and wild flowers line the front lawn by the ha-ha.  

The tennis court has been turned into a “boule a drome” with four large beds, beautiful wrought iron gates and a gazebo.  

l You can visit The Old Rectory, OX12 8NX, between 2pm & 5pm on 18th May, 25th & June & 30th July. Adults £7pp, children free. You will also find specialist plants and homemade preserves for sale, as well as teas & cakes.