The Castelnau Garden

David and Margaret have been looking after their beautiful garden, which overlooks the London Wetlands Centre, since 1974. It has been a labour of love for 46 years and working on the garden gives them huge pleasure.

David says: When we bought the house in 1974 the garden was just a rectangular space with a tennis court in the middle. Once the tennis court was cleared away we commissioned a garden designer to soften the space. The straight lines were replaced with undulating curves which were edged in brick all the way around. Now it’s a mature garden full of trees and shrubs.

There are two raised beds with fruits and vegetables and when a tree died at the foot of the garden it was replaced with a raised area called ‘the bandstand’ where we planted lots of shrubs. Our favourite things are the stone sculpture of a baby rabbit and the large lead pots overflowing with camellias. We still enjoy tending our garden but have regular help each week from gardener Jack Taylor, who we heartily recommend.